Italian crime dramas can generally be lumped into one of two types. There are the ‘Gomorrah'-type of ultra-dark and violent thrillers that paint Italy as a place full of gangsters and corruption. And then there’s the lightweight and comedic series like ‘Montalbano' which show the side of the country that the tourist board want to promote – gorgeous scenery, fabulous weather and delicious food – with the occasional murder. This latest show from Walter Presents falls into the latter category, although it’s not without its darker elements.
If you want to avoid all spoilers, stop reading this article now.
Blanca Ferrando (Maria Chiara Giannetta) is a young blind woman who accompanied by her gorgeous dog, Linneo, has secured a job as an intern at Genoa’s police department. She is initially given menial tasks, such a photocopying and making coffee for the department, until the police officer she’s partnered with – Inspector Michele Liguori (Giuseppe Zeno) – realises that Blanca isn’t defined by her lack of sight. Indeed, her other senses are so heightened that her talents extend far beyond photocopying. So, when a woman is found murdered – the same woman who, coincidentally, Blanca sat next to when waiting in the reception area on the police station on her first day – Blanca is able to locate the murder site from the background sounds on the emergency phone call the victim made shortly before her death.
Suspicion falls on the victim’s husband, who has a criminal record. But when it’s discovered that other women have died in similar circumstances in the same area, Michele believes they have a serial killer on their hands.
Blanca is based on novels by Patrizia Rinaldi. Each episode is an hour long, meaning there’s plenty of opportunity to fully flesh-out each storyline. It does mean that there are times when you want to story to pick up the pace a bit, but generally it’s a good thing.
There are times when the narrative gets slightly preposterous – Blanca seems to have almost Daredevil superpowers that I’m not sure are entirely credible – but overall, this is a fun show. Giannetta in the lead role is delightful; and as an unapologetic dog lover, Linneo is absolutely fabulous.
The script is witty and playful (nothing too dark, although we are dealing with serial killers!), and the glorious setting of Genoa is a pleasure to watch, too.
This will appeal to those of you who enjoy ‘Astrid: Murder In Paris', or the UK remake, ‘Patience'. In these examples we have young women overcoming disabilities (blindness for Blanca, autism for Patience and Astrid), often in the face of hostile resistance from the authorities; and finally becoming accepted as hugely valuable members of the team – their so-called disabilities no longer being thought of as disadvantages, but instead recognised as making them unique and capable of analysing situations unlike anyone else.
This looks like a thoroughly engaging series – one of the best to come out of Italy since ‘Montalbano'.
Walter Presents: ‘Blanca' is available as a boxset on C4 Streaming now.
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