“The patriarch”, a detective story that respects the rules of the genre – Corriere.it

Well-made fiction is always rewarded by ratings. Claudius Amendola protagonist and director of The patriarch, a dramatic series in six episodes, produced by Camfilm in collaboration with Taodue and written by Mizio Curcio, Paolo Marchesini and Sandrone Dazieri (Canale 5 and Mediaset Infinity). a remake of the Spanish Vivir sin permiso set for the occasion in Puglia. The story revolves around Nemo Bandera, entrepreneur of success that has made Deep Sea grow, transforming it into one of the leading companies in Puglia. His triumph is due s to his entrepreneurial skills but above all to illegal activities in the port of Levante. Nemo’s life is turned upside down when he discovers he suffers from a serious illness which prevents him from continuing to manage his own trades.

What are the strengths of this fiction? I’m not familiar with Claudio Amendola’s directing style (he had already directed Nero a mezzo), but when he did rules like that (the detective story) are respected, the story flows smoothly: there is no discrepancy between the action scenes and those of dialogue, between the situations of criminal ruthlessness and those covered by secrecy or absence (the boss’s illness, the first love lying in hospital in an irreversible coma, the homosexuality of the son…). to hold up thescaffolding
of the tale there are the dialogues, not written in dubbing nor according to the classic rule of much Italian cinema: We don’t do it but we tell it.

The plot full of twists, the story never proceeds by accumulation but by inlays: obviously everything revolves around the war of succession. Who will be the real company heir, between unreliable children and godchildren too interested in the levers of command? Each episode follows the imperturbable order of the crime: alla break of a legal order (trafficking, drugs, executions) happens his redial either by Nemo or by the law. The patriarch built to function in dual mode
of vision: Friday evening on linear TV, week after week (there are all the elements to satisfy the wait) or, as desired, on the streaming platform, as if it were a long-lasting film.