Save your money for something good and enjoyable

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Welcome to the Italian Tourist Board production of some detective story or other. In the series you will see shimmering silhouettes of Rome, hear the chirp of cicadas in the midday sun and marvel at rolling scenes of pine forests and classical architecture - but as for everything else?I seem to be in a small minority (so far) of those who found this TV series profoundly disappointing. Perhaps it was because I read the books when they first came out and therefore have a clear picture in my mind of the Zen I was expecting. But no, clearly the original plots and characters were not good enough for the producers.Surely someone could have found either real Italians or at least people capable of putting on a good Italian accent? As it was, we needed to see the 'Questura di Roma' sign every 5 minutes just to remind viewers that we had not space-shifted into some English regional police station where people apparently have nothing useful to do.Zen - well he must be Italian, mustn't he, with his designer sunglasses and snazzy suits? And Tania, like all good Italian police workers, dressed to the nine in high heels. And everyone, but everyone, appears to live in some palatial dwelling. Where is the real Rome, the noisy, bustling, chaotic city which never sleeps, where crossing every road is to take your life in its hands? Italian arguments are wonderful and terrifying experiences (as well as being everyday) - here they turn into bizarre parodies which never quite get anyone's blood boiling. Shouting is not arguing!My main criticism, however, is connected with the characters and with their dialogue. There was not a single person in the series with whom one could identify or empathise. Characters and dialogues were all two-dimensional and flat. How could anyone possibly believe in the dynamics of the police station, of the relationship between Zen and his mother, between Zen and Fabbri, his bosses and even the bad guys? Everyone looked as though they were reading their lines for the first time off an autocue. Frankly, I could not get engrossed in a single episode, whereas the books were gripping.So in summary if you have not read any of the books and would like a two-dimensional and unconvincing romp through lovely Italian scenery, fine, but otherwise find something more gripping and convincing. Wallander it certainly isn't, in any of his incarnations.

After the success of the BBC version of the Swedish police drama 'Wallander' it appears that they decided to make another police show set on the continent, this time trading Scandinavia for the warmth of Italy. Set in Rome this series follows three cases for Detective Aurelio Zen. It quickly becomes apparent that he is one of the few honest cops but that doesn't stop politicians leaning on him to solve cases that serve them whether or not justice prevails. Zen isn't perfect though; he is having an illicit affair with a woman he works with for starters. The stories themselves are gripping and there are plenty of suspects for Zen and the viewer to wonder who did it.This series is very different to Wallander, he isn't full of angst or suffering family problems; he just gets on with the job while enjoying life and being dressed in a very sharp suit; Rufus Sewell is great in the role. The series is filmed in a way that conveys the heat of the setting so that even though most of the actors speak with English accents nobody would think they were meant to be British. The decision not to have non-Italian cast members speaking in mock Italian accents was wise; ever since 'Allo 'Allo false foreign accents have seemed humorous rather than clever. It is just a pity that the series was only three episodes long; I hope it will be successful enough to warrant further series in the future.

A bit harsh but this is just paper thin TV for a Sunday audience who want to look at something nice and escape before they clock in on Monday.Sewell is competent and sophisticated but often bland and monotone. The attempts to create tension, atmosphere and empathy come across mawkish at times because the acting is on the whole quite poor, for example the brother and sister in episode 3. Also many people have mentioned the accents and it is distracting that there are so many upper middle class Brits in Italy.It is well filmed and the cinematography is great and it could be that this is where they spent most of budget. Should a supposed classy TV drama rely so heavily on locations and lighting to provide entertainment? What about the writing? Even though I've not read the novels this adaptation feels rushed with little depth or strong characterisation.Nice women though, hence the screensaver comment. It seems the BBC made sure there was something attractive here because it certainly wasn't the plot. Seems like an expensive failure but people will still watch because British viewers are use to weak offerings like this.American TV drama will certainly not be quaking in it's boots at this standard UK fodder.

I'm Italian, so I was curious to see the show because it claimed to portray "real" Italy, not the oh-it's-so-lovely-in-Tuscany crap. Pretty accurate. I won't go into the detective plots, which are average at best and full of implausibilities (also, the reality of Italy in 2010, with Berlusconi in charge and all that it implies, surpasses any fiction... :-/ ); I won't complain if a guy throws himself from a balcony of a prostitute in full daylight and it doesn't make the news or cause a new investigation: the show thrives on visuals, on quirky dialogue and on its actors. And Rome itself looks like the most beautiful place in the known universe - which it basically is. Some scenes are so lovingly shot in golden light that you nearly feel the heat in those narrow alleys, in the eternal Italian early Summer that Zen probably inhabits.Rufus Sewell is absolutely Italian, totally rocking the suit-and-sunglasses look (if you think he looks pretentious walking around like that, try walking through central Rome any day; guys like that are a dime a dozen here). He also nails the body language - in CABAL, the face he makes when Arianna tells him she is "a lady of the night" is really "in a different language" compared to how British actors would ever react, and the scenes with his Mom (who by the way is a French actress but nobody apparently noticed the different accent) perfectly express the way Italians feel forever 12 when under the scrutiny of their Mamma. I didn't mind that each character spoke in their own accent, it doesn't distract much; however Caterina Murino is really unintelligible, heck, I have much less of an accent and I'm not even in showbiz. However she just needs to be there, look beautiful and wear improbable garish blouses (THOSE are really fictional, no Italian woman in an official environment like a police department would wear them; definitely some male fantasy of what a desirable Mediterranean woman must look like). She doesn't seem to have much personality yet, we'll see if it gets better later. I wonder what is the point of Francesco Quinn's character, but I also guess they're just introducing him for the next stories. Zen (yes it's a real Venetian name, it sounds more like Tzenn) is no hero and is actually often rather "sfigato", which is a refreshing change from all those heroic American cops or the tortured musings of a Wallander. It will be really funny when this show - a co-production - gets dubbed into Italian and shown on our TV. People will find all kinds of faults with it. But you see? I'm being really Italian! I already see the worst-case scenario! People like me are the kind of world Zen lives in, and he's perfect in it.