French cinema has been conquering the billboard for years with its “comedies of the year”, those low- and medium-budget films that are harmless and full of easy laughs that work so well. However, after several years of batches and batches of these “French comedies of the year”, the French industry has now set its sights on a new target: Netflix. After proving his worth with series like Lupinestarring a great face of French-speaking cinema like Omar Sy, another series of French origin has now arrived on the platform ready to make everyone laugh, and at the same time reflect a little on the state of the film industry itself in the world. country.
Is about Fiascothe new Netflix original series from France and produced under the label of Ninety Films, a company founded by the French actor and main protagonist of the series, Pierre Niney. The actor of films like The perfect man either Yves Saint Laurent -not to be confused with the other biopic directed by Bertrand Bonello in 2014 and with Gaspard Ulliel in the role of the designer – is the great leader of this production that is little by little becoming a platform phenomenon. But it is worth asking, what does this French series have that is conquering so many people?
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Well, the first thing to keep in mind is its crazy premise. Fiasco introduces us to Raphael Valande (Pierre Niney), a film director about to shoot his first feature film, which he has decided to dedicate to the heroic life of his grandmother. However, upon arriving at the shoot, Valande discovers all the complexities that it entails, and a series of catastrophes begin to occur on set. Implausible situations, ridiculous characters and unpredictable disasters crowd together throughout the seven episodes of which the series consists, while the filming team tries to advance the development of the fictional film.
To understand one of the keys to the success of Fiasco, you have to pay attention to its format and tone. The meta-cinematic premise helps, but it is the format mockumentary -or mockumentary- which gives it the touch of grace, and brings it closer to series that are already a guarantee of success such as The Office, one of the first to popularize the mockumentary with its looks at the camera. The series makes use of this tool to generate even more absurd situations while exposing from within how the fictitious filming of a film takes place. To this we must add the presence of other illustrious figures of French cinema in addition to Niney, such as the legendary actor Vincent Cassel or the young François Civilwho precisely coincided with Cassel in the diptych The Three Musketeersin which he plays D’Artagnan.
On the other hand, seeing the success it is having Fiasco On Netflix it is not strange to wonder if it will have a sequel. At the moment neither Netflix nor the production company have commented on the matter, while the series has only just launched on the platform and is still enjoying its recent triumph. We will have to wait for the final reception of the series, although those involved are so satisfied with the result that it is not ruled out to continue seeing more adventures of Valande and his filming team. In any case, Fiasco It is already a new great triumph for French cinema and its crazy comedies, now in series format and with Netflix no less.
