Curon: the review of the Italian TV series by Netflix
Netflix has distributed the series in all the countries where the service is available, thus enriching the corollary of Italian TV series produced by the online streaming giant, including Summertime, Luna Nera , Skam Italia.
Curon between history and fantasy Curon follows the events of some families of Italian and Austrian origins in Val Venosta, in the mysterious town of Curon. Before going into the summary of the plot of the TV show, some historical references related to the town are necessary. In the fifties of the last century, due to the construction of an artificial lake for the supply of electricity, the ancient town of Curon was mined and razed to the ground to make room for the water reserve. During the operation all the buildings were destroyed, the only one to remain standing was the ancient medieval bell tower of the village church, which was then left to emerge from the lake waters, thus creating a panorama as suggestive as it is mysterious which is still can be admired.
Furthermore, during the First World War the town was annexed to Italy as well as other neighboring towns that were previously located in Austrian territory. During the Second World War, the area of Val Venosta was again the subject of military clashes, including a bombing in March of forty-five. This past war is due to the presence of bunkers, which will play an important role in the events of the series.
These premises are also necessary to understand certain aspects of the plot that is not often very clear to the viewer. In the course of the episodes we see, in fact, a heated conflict between the population of origin of the austrian and the Italian one. At the center of the story there is, in fact, the influential Italian family of Raina, who is said to have contributed to the destruction of the ancient village of Curon and it is busy, then, of the construction of the new town.
In this social context, it also combines a local folklore linked to the above-mentioned bunker dating back to the two world wars, which is complete with all the tales that they add to the series, giving life to a boundless presence of traditions and popular legends related to the dual cultural identity of the place, the austrian and the Italian one.
it all starts with a trip in the car, we see a mother and her two teenage children to cross the tunnel that leads to the town of Val Venosta. The three of them have abandoned their life in Milan to find peace and serenity in the country of origin of the mother. When arriving in the hotel we find that it is owned by the grandfather of the boys, Thomas Raina. The mother, Anna, is not accepted very well by his father, who would take the three out on the town as soon as possible. The three, mother and sons, they decide, contrary to the will of Thomas to stay on and start their new life.
The day after, Daria and Mauro will go to school and here they met the other two brothers with whom the plan the plan will friendship, Miki and Julius Asper, sons of an old love, Anna, and Albert. We get the knowledge at school, another boy, Lucas, the best friend of Miki, who loves her in secret, always. In this context, between parties in high school, drunken evenings, and other good spells, which fits the story and the supernatural. Anna mysteriously vanishes into nothing, after Mauro, very drunk back from a party, he discovers a person identical to the mother, closed in the attic.
here one can discover many stories about the ancient superstitions of the place, the surface of which is composed for the most part, by forests populated by wolves. These wolves gave birth to the mystery the most important legacy of this ancient legend (universally known), which states that:
“Inside of us live two wolves. One is the wolf calm, gentle, and the other is the wolf to the dark, rabid, ruthless. Fight for control of our soul”.
In the us, and then, there are two wolves, one good and the other bad. Between the two will take the upper hand of those who will receive more nourishment. He then starts talking about duality, which will be the central theme of all seven episodes that comprise the first season of Curon. In the whole affair, told always hovers an aura of complete mystery that, unfortunately, will never be understood or explained. From when they begin to be small carried out to supernatural, the series will not be able to withstand very well with the narration, getting lost in a great backstory that really tells us little.
Adolescence horror If the plot and writing of Curon fail to embellish a beautiful scenery as the Val Venosta and Resia lake, a lance in favor of the teen drama that is the backdrop to the story must be broken. As we have said, are different than the teenage protagonists of the series, we have two brothers, Raina, Mauro and Daria, the two brothers Asper, Miki and Julius, and Lucas (in addition to other secondary characters that are part of the circle of friends, more or less close, of the protagonists). From an initial conflict which sees Raina against Julius Asper, is growing up slowly a friendship between the two couples of brothers and sisters who will learn to know each other, they each other of their fears, and the dynamics of their dysfunctional families. Among the four young Raina and Asper, we have Lucas, the best friend of Miki, who will be replaced by the big bad wolf giving vent to the violence that had always repressed.
in Addition to being united by the story and the supernatural that links the two families, the teen drama background will speak to us of the suffering of children, both in the family of origin, but also to inner suffering, gender identity, sexual orientation, alcoholism and drug addiction in the youth. We will talk about the difficulties of young people to live in a community very isolated in the mountains, where the climate certainly does not help the unfolding of a social life in the open air. We will find guys that know how to handle rifles, who know how to orient themselves in the same mountain trails, adolescents often exasperated that as the only way of escape from the reality in which they live, seeking refuge in alcohol and drugs. All of this malaise of the young, well-disposes us to the revealing of the mystery that is teeming in the minds of all to the Graun, the sound of the bells of the campanile (there are more) that foresees the death of those who hear them, and its replacement.
Curon, the curse is never revealed, and the climax never reached The mystery and the curse of the wolf, throughout the narrative, are never explained. We know that there are these shadows, we are aware that you should not give nourishment to the bad wolf inside of us. We know the curse on the bell tower of the Resia lake, we see some people in the country celebrate propitiatory rites, by using hundreds of crucifixes in the house and matches everywhere, but we don't know absolutely what the source of these beliefs.
In Curon everything of interest is only hinted at, we see only the performance, but nmanca has been written to support and. As if all narrative had the game in medias res, only a long preamble that never resolves itself into action and the dissolution of the nodes. A spectator would like to have all the possibilities to try to solve a mystery, it is one of the rules for the excellence of the narrative mystery, or yellow. Even if there is the unveiling of the final, it is necessary that the narrator gives to the user all the elements, even well hidden, that lead to understanding the basics of the story and the mystery itself. Here, instead, the viewer understands everything, is able to have a vision of the whole , see only the effects of something that is not explained.
This is an assumption really weak to withstand an entire season of seven episodes. Another negative point of this series is the lack of the right time of the climax. We have moments of rising tension that almost never end with a main scene, on the contrary, the scenes with the “mother” are then revealed, several minutes later, when the tension has faded. This is the accomplice's definitely a bad mount, that does not innovate and does not support the narrative itself is already very weak.
To aggravate more the situation, it is a sound really mediocre. Many times, you want to for the recovery of environmental sound, either for the poor performance of acting of some actors as Margherita Morchio , it really makes a lot of effort to understand what is being said. Added to this is also a drama full of cliches that it is slow to see by the end of the silent cinema , and a modulation of the voice in certain occasions that does not reflect the modern rules of the recitatives, as in the case of the character of Lucas, too emphasized in the voice, in the expression and in the movements by actor Luke Castellan .
Conclusions Curon is a first experiment that brings a minimum of added value to the international production and serial Italian, if for no other reason, surely for the choice of location really evocative. The other honorable mention goes to the performance of the young Federico Russo , actor, expressive, and charismatic, which definitely gives a good spike to the cast of actors.
For the rest Curon remains suspended in the limbo of the series with great ideas but developed bad enough , the conditions for creating a good series that could mix horror and mystery were there, but the cards on the table have not led to the poker of aces, as expected. The season finale opens up the possibility of a second part, hoping that the motivations of the mysteries of the supernatural we have seen in this first taste may be unfolded and understood by viewers.
