Zen - the spoiler/review thread

[kygal]

Thanks Frannie. I have seen this here, I think, but it was so worth it to watch again!

[kissmekate]

Australians seem to like Aurelio

And there's another detective series to salivate over, Zen, with broodingly handsome Rufus Sewell as cult Venetian detective Aurelio Zen and the captivating Caterina Murino as Tania Biacas, his love interest. The series is based on the novels of Michael Dibden, first launched in 1988 with Ratking, which popularised a new genre, the distinctively contemporary world-weary European procedural.

(OK, it's the "brooding" label again and they obviously can't spell Dibdin nor get Tania's last name right, but I guess we can agree on the salivating part ;D )

[joyceinva]

Hmmm, whoever wrote that review couldn't spell Dibdin correctly, but somehow managed to come up with the fact that in the books Tania's last name is Biacas. Sounds as if the writer wrote the review without even watching!

[GreenEyesToo]

I saw this last week just before I had to go out and forgot to post it later - in a review of the year's TV:

I started off the year by predicting great things for Zen (January, BBC One). This, I declared grandly, caught both the glamour and the gloom of Italy, and while nature may not have naturally equipped Rufus Sewell to play someone riven by insecurities, he inhabited Michael Dibdin’s mummy’s boy of a detective with engaging allure. And what happened? For reasons that still baffle me, it was axed.

www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8961446/The-year-of-the-No.1-lady-detective.html

It still baffles us, too, John!

[kissmekate]

Oh, I saw that one, too, but also forgot to post it. No need to mention I'm absolutely with John on everything!

[rueful]

Thanks for posting this, GE2. Yeah, makes no sense. As the BBC keeps adding more and more male detectives....

(Off-topic, but I thought South Riding was one of the most depressing stories I ever saw. It was like a Dickens novel, without any of the wit or humor.)

[rueful]

While I was looking around the GQ site regarding the Best Dressed poll (VOTE here! www.condenast.co.uk/mediaresearch/GQBESTDRESSED2012/ ), I came across this article, and I don't think it's been posted previously (apologies if it has). It's a tongue-in-cheek imagining of US remakes of British shows such as Wallendar, Luther, and of course Zen. Although they are being funny, they call Rufus "dreamy," and they have a very fair point about one thing, which I've highlighted in bold. ;D


Zen
The Network: Showtime
The Star: Patrick Dempsey
What to expect: A production credit for the dude from Entourage

An especially recent offering, Zen has nothing to do with Asia, or serenity, or anything suggested by its title. It follows Aurelio Zen, a detective in Rome whose quick wit and outsider cred (he's from Venice, or something) never stand in the way of every single Italian stereotype in the book. Corruption abounds, on-location shooting is easy on the eyes and, right, Rufus Sewell is positively dreamy in the lead role. There are shades of Wallander here—the time and place matter nearly as much as the leading man, and already, the original deals with an imagined, Anglicized foreign world.


The good news is that Zen, a visual page-turner with gilded edges, could benefit from an American production interested in pulling out all the stops. More car chases. Fancier suits. More tourist porn. And yes, more sex. In Wallander, there's one date for our hero. It's a set-up that almost brings about the downfall of banking. Zen has make-out sessions in cafes, sex on desks, even betting pools on who will first shag the office object of desire. Slick to a fault, with most plots resolved by a well-placed phone call or sly look, Zen might as well come to America and punch itself up another notch. People loved Angels and Demons, right?



Read More www.gq.com/entertainment/movies-and-tv/201109/bbc-remakes-prime-suspect#ixzz1hHFLSJI1

[kissmekate]

Love the "visual page-turner with gilded edges"!

(They seem to be blind, though, mixing up the captions of the Wallander and Zen pics And who the heck needs Patrick Dempsey if there's a Rufus around? )

[GreenEyesToo]

Dec 22, 2011 15:29:38 GMT rueful said:

they have a very fair point about one thing, which I've highlighted in bold. ;D

Ha-ha! Well, if we didn't already know how your mind works where Rufus is concerned, Rueful, we do now!

Thanks for the article.

[rueful]

Dec 22, 2011 20:27:35 GMT GreenEyesToo said:

Ha-ha! Well, if we didn't already know how your mind works where Rufus is concerned, Rueful, we do now!

I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about.

[GreenEyesToo]

Yeah, right! I think this is the smiley you were looking for: ?

[cricketgirl]

I watched "Ratking" again last night and realized that I still have two lingering questions:

--In the first scene, who actually zoomed by on the motorbike, picked up the money, and shot the lawyer? Was it Cinzia's husband?

--Did any of the family members hire the ex-military guys to kidnap the father and intend to purposely derail their plan or did those guys kidnap the father on their own and Cinzia's husband and the lawyer's wife came up with the plan of taking the money when the ransom call came in? And did they shoot the lawyer so the wife could get all his money, too?

It was wonderful watching Rufus again in that episode...It reminded me how communicative his face is with just very small expressions. So talented!

I really like the scene where Zen and Tania visit the boss outside on the grounds of the hospital. And when they call each other to say "I love you..." Be still, my beating heart!

[joyceinva]

Jan 22, 2012 20:19:24 GMT cricketgirl said:

I watched "Ratking" again last night and realized that I still have two lingering questions:

--In the first scene, who actually zoomed by on the motorbike, picked up the money, and shot the lawyer? Was it Cinzia's husband?

Yes

--Did any of the family members hire the ex-military guys to kidnap the father and intend to purposely derail their plan or did those guys kidnap the father on their own and Cinzia's husband and the lawyer's wife came up with the plan of taking the money when the ransom call came in? And did they shoot the lawyer so the wife could get all his money, too?

No, the kidnapping was genuine, nothing to do with the family. But Cinza's husband and the lawyer's wife took advantage of the crime to get the money and to get rid of an inconvenient husband.

[cricketgirl]

Thanks, joyceinva!

That was one of the tantalizing, engaging features of this series...there were so many subtle loose ends.

I've heard the plot lines described in the media as implausible and ridiculous, but I didn't think so!

[peach]

hi Rueful, I think if the Americans took a hand at Zen they'd ruin it. For the reasons you mention, too much sex, car chases and of course it would be extremely loud for no apparent reason, just because. I've seen the American version of Girl....Dragon tattoo...I'm probably in the minority here but i absolutely hated it. The characters were changed and there were gaping holes in the story. Read all the books last year then watched the Swedish film versions...highly superior and truer to the novels.Even if Ruf were to continue on as Zen it wouldn't be the same.