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@cheticonsiglio_
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The story draws inspiration from the novel I never had my age, by Antonio Dikele Distefano, creator of the series itself. To mark the rhythm of this "street" story, the songs and the soundtrack of various Italian and international artists of the rap scene.
The story of Zero is a story of inclusiveness, as said by the creator himself, the goal was to create a product with black Italians who had a story to tell and not just define them by the color of their skin and the result is certainly excellent, as the cast of the series has repeatedly reiterated during an interview.
From the beginning, one is overwhelmed by the stories of the protagonists and by the continuous needs of the Barrio, allowing the viewer to completely forget the ethnicity of the actors or their origins. Zero is a story of invisibility, the one that all kids feel during their adolescence, a sense of bewilderment that often leads you not to be understood, to feel judged. Zero is the story of Omar, a boy who has always spent his days locked up at home drawing his beloved manga, for fear of being judged by the world, but one day he discovers that he has great power, becoming invisible and us cinephiles will we know better than anyone: with great power comes great responsibility.
Precisely thanks to these responsibilities, Zero finds himself living a different life, discovers love, friendship and a sense of belonging to his neighborhood and thus begins a fight against South American criminals who actually hide something bigger, Deeper.
The idea behind this project is to focus the viewer's attention on the lives of those "forgotten" kids to make the world understand that they exist, they are not invisible, and the result is a metaphor that strikes like a punch in the stomach. Dikele's stated goal was to represent characters and a story that belonged to everyone, a normal world made up of kids and stories without getting lost in those twisted events that are fed to us daily in the various TV series and to do this we needed young guys with the strength to get involved.
Hence the choice of almost totally novice actors, who most of the time are immature on the screen, they eat a few words and this more than becoming a defect of the series, it only makes it more real, precisely because Zero wants to reach everyone and wants tell the story of every boy who has felt invisible at least once. The common thread that binds them and makes them a solid group (quoting Momo) is the difficult and turbulent past, which has made them stronger and more courageous boys, who do not hold back in the face of danger.
Although the screenplay does not make certain secondary characters important, thanks to the actor's strength they too are able to be appreciated: just think of Awa (played by Virginia Diop), who in a future second season will certainly have a more central role given the final premises, or characters like Sharif (Haroun Fall) and Momo (Dylan Magon) who are the real glue of the group.
The special effects and the actual invisibility staged were created with great care and it seems like we are witnessing an overseas product, but then we focus on the Bosco Verticale, on Piazza Duomo and on the thousand facets of Milan and we further appreciate a product that for the first time does us justice.
Antonio Dikele declares several times that he is passionate about manga and comics and it shows in his product. An atypical superhero is developed, out of the classic canons who doesn't want to save the world and doesn't need to fight against large mechanical robots or monsters from other planets. He faces human beings, he defends his people and does not place himself on a pedestal from which everyone can admire him, but puts himself on the same level as his "crew". A young boy who can afford mistakes caused by inexperience can give dreams to an entire neighborhood and can fall for a girl like anyone else in the world. In short, a story of a normal boy.
Last note, but fundamental, is the choice of the soundtrack guided by Mahmood and other artists of the rap panorama who, during the episodes, punctuate the events that flow on the screen almost as if they were telling a second story, a deeper part of the characters, a still hidden narrative.
Zero is therefore a teen drama that has very little of the genre, it is a product that tries to send an even bigger message and succeeds in its intent with a disarming lightness, without weighing down the vision and without continuously quoting those speeches that have already been seen . It brings a revolution to the stage of Italian series and the fact that it can arrive in 190 different countries can only make us happy, bearing in mind that they are people like us, each with their own dream, each with their own pains, but above all, each with their own past and their own life.
At the end we are shown something further important by opening the doors to a second season which, given the initial premises, will almost certainly be done. Times aren't ripe yet, but for now we're enjoying our first Italian superhero who doesn't fight supernatural forces but ordinary people with dodgy purposes.
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