Set in the world of drug trafficking,
Zero establishes its intimate style and vast scope in the absorbing opening episode. We travel to New Orleans, Mexico’s Monterrey and a small village in the Italian region of Calabria, as we meet the buyers, the sellers and the brokers of a large cocaine deal (as well as the authorities who surveil them). To Don Damiano Minu La Piana (Adriano Chiaramida), the 5000 kilos he’s ordered represent a second chance, a way to set things back in motion. Reduced to hiding out in a bunker in the middle of nowhere, he’s keen for redemption in the eyes of local families. “Disappointment has no place for mercy,” he laments, as he details his investment – and comeback.
Episodes viewed: 3 of 8
If you’ve ever fancied changing careers to become the leader of a drug empire (long lunches, travel ops but no life insurance or holiday pay),
ZeroZeroZero provides a good handbook. Adapted from the novel by
Gomorrah author Roberto Saviano by Stefano Sollima, Leonardo Fasoli and Mauricio Katz, the Sky/Studio Canal co-production provides a helicopter view of the cocaine business from multiple perspectives, tracking numerous characters speaking in different languages across many continents. If it sounds glamorous, it isn’t.
ZeroZeroZero offers a serious, borderline nihilistic take on an overcrowded genre, finding its own space by minting its broad perspective with colourful but controlled filmmaking.