Vincenzo (2021)

Every episode just got more and more perfection

Without a doubt my favorite series of this year and one of my favorites forever, I know that it is early in the year to make a statement of this caliber, however, after watching so many series you know when you are in the presence of an anomaly and for me Vincenzo is practically perfect in all departments, besides that in a very subjective way the story totally captured me and I think that's why it took me so long to write this review because once it is done I have to accept that it is really over.

To start the story, wow and what a story, there was literally not a single chapter that did not make me nervous and excited about what was happening, in general terms it is the story of an Italian mobster who returns to his country of origin (Korea) to to beat a large corporation, by means that we could not call fair, but deep down it is much more.

One of the themes that the series touches throughout the season is the family, Vincenzo since childhood has survived in the world practically alone, we do not know so much about his life in Italy but we are given to understand that his adoptive family was murdered, so that for many years he depended solely on his intelligence to survive a hostile world (considering that he was not even in his own homeland), in addition to getting involved in the mafia the ties he could develop with other people were increasingly reduced, when he come to Korea, all the walls and schemes that he had built around him were slowly collapsed one by one, in Korea people wanted to be close to him, they supported him and a bond of mutual need was created between them, little by little we experienced how Vincenzo has that need to protect who he loves and how he is going to become fond of all the inhabitants of Plaza Geumga and some other external characters.

Another of the topics widely followed by the series is redemption, something very important is that Vincenzo is an antihero and although we pretend that some of his actions are justified, the reality is that he mostly plays below the legal limits, when you have a character like this, generally there are two paths that can be followed: the total redemption of the character, most of which end with his death in a great act of sacrifice for a just cause; or on the contrary, the total submersion in moral decay, where most of the character breaks those self-imposed rules that connected him to his humanity; Vincenzo on the other hand chooses a third path, what if you sink them a little more and at the same time give him redemption? In such a way that towards the end the character continues to maintain his balance between justice and decadence and continues to be an Antihero however, this antihero is not the same as we had at the beginning, there is an evolution, a development and a series of decisions that transform the world of the character and that also transform his environment.

The series takes that path and does it in a masterful way, the great thesis of this moment is in the last conversation that Vincenzo has with the older monk Jeok Ha, in the end Vincenzo cannot redeem everything he has done, his impact on him world is undeniable, however his fight against cruelty is also there, and he will forever have to live with the weight of his decisions and the most interesting thing is that he does, genuinely his actions weigh on him, he is full of guilt and These actions are reflected in the type of person he is, it seems that this point is obvious, but no, there are an absurd amount of stories that give us characters "with complex pasts" but at the time of the hour they are just anecdotes the impact they have on the lives of the characters.

I will not deny that initially I believed that the only way to conclude the series was with the death of Vincenzo, however the ending they decided for the series seems to me the most acceptable of all, it is not a happy ending, it is not even an ending, everything that happened in the series was one more event in his life and although he changed it in many ways, he still has a path to follow and he will still have to continue living with everything he did and with everything he caused, maybe one day I even have to face the consequences, we don't know.

The villain of this series is another of his great successes, it is true that by the end of the series it is more or less obvious that he pales in front of Vincenzo (not only because the latter is too intelligent but also because he is a mobster made and right and knows how to play his game), but regardless of that, Jang Junwoo is a very well built villain we know what it takes to understand his way of thinking, his lack of compassion and his purposes, for him everything is initially a fun game, but little by little we see how his mental state degenerates more and more as the plot progresses, not only is he intelligent, he is captivating, he is attractive, he is manipulative and terrifying in many moments, it is easily understand because he is at the top at the beginning of the game, when he understands that his capabilities are below those of Vincenzo is when he begins to fall apart and stops being fun, he was not afraid of dying before a Vincenzo that he considers an equal rival, but when he sees himself inferior he begins to fear, not so much of the act of death itself, but of the fact that this implies that he is inferior, that is his true fear.

Choi Myung-hee is the other side of the evil in the series, on the one hand we have Jang Junwoo who as I said is charming and likes to play from the shadows and on the other hand her, her rhythm of play is not to be pleasant, she does not seek to convince anyone, she is a terrible person from the front, everyone who lives with her directly or indirectly knows it and that is why they become the perfect companions and at no time their loyalty wavers, their interest although of course it has monetary connotations, they always go hand in hand with obtaining power and abusing it directly by causing others to suffer. In addition, the relationship of the antagonists with the protagonists, especially with Vincenzo, seems to me, simply great, how they face directly, how they use political and judicial strategies, the relationship between the situation they are living and who they are as individuals really feels.

The rest of the characters also give for an analysis each one, but I will try to make it concise, all the secondary characters from those who live in Geumga square, to Jang Hanseo and Jo Youn Woon are the best I have seen in a never series, each and every one of them has depth and evolution throughout the series, and although it is "a deux-machina" that everything is so damn talented, it is justified by the tone of the series since we must remember that it is It is about a black comedy (the fact that the genre of the series is black comedy and drama is another success in itself since it allows the inclusion of more fanciful elements in the series that would not otherwise be organic), regardless of it And despite having so many characters and things happening at the same time, the series gives each of the characters time on the screen and not only that but it makes them iconic, they all have high moments of drama, they all have great dialogues and well constructed, everything is relevant in the story that is being told and that is the best that a series can do, create empathy between the characters and the viewer (not only with the protagonists) because in this way everything that is happening interests you and the dive is deeper.

I have to highlight here Lee Cheol Wook, Ahn Ki Seok, Park Seok Do and Nam Joo Sung as characters, each one conquered me in different ways at different times in the series and their relationship with the protagonist is so good that in the final chapter they had me trembling with concern that something would happen to them.

But definitely the secondary character that takes all the palms is Jang Hanseo, as he is the most evolving character of all, it is true that much of the series is presented as a single puppet under the orders of his brother who is not very intelligent to say, but when you start to analyze the whole picture, this character becomes more and more profound, let's start with the fact that he has lived his entire life tormented by a psychopath who also killed his father, even so I think that by moments and not explicitly it can be understood that a certain level in some twisted way "loves his brother", he has lived under Jungwoo's shadow always and this has prevented him from living a life that allows him to develop in any way to having him always tied up, with Vincenzo and his group is the first time that he is required to be more and he does it, we see him not only being a genuinely good and loyal person, but also that we see his capacities to be a good leader, everything potential that he had not been allowed to exploit was developing little by little, his need for affection is clear, to have a real family, a real brother and in Vincenzo he finds that bond to the point that he sacrifices his life for him, he is a character that one hundred percent obtains his redemption (I still suffer it).

We talked about "romance" in the series and of course Hong Cha-young, I really liked the decision to leave the romantic bond a little background in the story, mainly because too much was already happening for the characters to have time to worry for this reason, even so the link is there and you can see it in each gesture, look, in their genuine concern for each other, there are many romantic series that scream at you with words that the main characters love each other but their actions never reflect it, in this series we have the opposite, we know what you feel through the subtlety and beauty of their interactions, but just like them, the public realizes that it is not the time to get romantic. Honh Cha-young is a female character who seems to me simply spectacular, she is not the typical good-natured protagonist who lives only for the main male character, no, she is an intelligent, ambitious woman, she is good yes, but not completely like the vast majority in the series exists more in a range of grays, is brave and can face battles without the help of Vincenzo and even in many moments it is she who protects him, in addition, little by little her consciousness as a lawyer changes, partly if because of his suffering from losing his father, but also because as a person he feels better when he defends the weakest through the law, even when he knows that he has to say goodbye to Vincenzo despite his feelings for him, he takes it with bravery and is facing it. And the moments of madness and evil of her are simply amazing, what a good character.

The performances, Song Joong Ki is not a new actor for me but I must say that it was with this performance that he won all my heart, the series is his, all the characters are excellent but at no time do you forget that the series is Vincenzo always, his work is spectacular, all the looks, their emotions, their anger, their happiness, each moment is iconic and remains engraved very deep in your mind; and I have to acknowledge all the scenes with her mother it is sublime, you feel that duality between the genuine love of a child and the resentment of having been abandoned and the cathartic moment when she can finally forgive her, I remember it and tears come to my eyes and sorry but Italian had never seemed such a sexy language to me until this series, you can see all the work behind it and how committed the actor was at all times; I must also say that in all the performances it is felt that they were really enjoying doing the series. Jeon Yeo Bin, also does a spectacular job, I think he achieves a great balance of duality between the madness and the seriousness of his character, much of the character's suffering has to be kept in the dark because he is facing a great enemy, however in his gestures, glances and the longing in his gaze you gradually realize that he is more than what is shown on the surface and that can only be achieved when he has a first-rate actor. Ok Taec Yeon, ufff ... I really love this man, I don't know what else to say, he was bad with desire and despicable, but even so I felt slightly bad when his character suffered, all the cynicism, madness and mental decay that he had what to achieve with his character, it was simply spectacular, honestly, he was for me the great surprise of the series and I just want to see more of him, thank you, just thank you for giving us this character and every time his eyes got teary with anger, I just wanted to take all those moments and immortalize them for posterity.

All the other actors did a spectacular job, I can't talk about all of them because in itself this is already very long, but, it is more than obvious how committed and the love they felt for the project itself each of the characters, there is not a person in this series who does not believe that they gave the performance of their life and that is certainly something that I do not think I have the fortune to witness again. Respect.

The music is very good, the use of classical Italian music combined with pop or romantic Korean music, they are geniuses, one not might think that will work so well, but it does and it is simply a visual and aural spectacle.

The production work, I am deeply grateful that they made the decision that the series will be shown seriously raw, we do not see use of extremely fake blood as it happens in many Asian productions or the action happens out of focus, no, no, here the blood is seen realistic and the action is put in front of you, regardless of whether it implies violence, torture and even death, the characters are cruel at times and the series does not stop to show you this, leaving this aside, the series is beautiful each scene is built to be a work of art and each frame could easily be you new screen saver and that special effects, wonderful.

I could not add anything more to this review, which more than review it is a compilation of praise for Vincenzo, but really I found a spectacular series and I recommend it to everyone, just want more series with that quality and wonderful characters to be produced, Korea never ceases to amaze me when I think I have reached the epitome, it always has more to offer me, it will take a while to get over this series, thank you, thank you for Vincenzo.

I miss you, Col Salada.

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