6 PASSI NEL GIALLO: GEMELLE

Angela Wyler hires Commissioner Valerio Strada to find Christine, her twin sister whom she hasn't heard from in two years and who, some time ago, had a turbulent relationship with the policeman. Valerio Strada, meanwhile, investigates several murders that seem somehow linked to Christine's disappearance; the investigations will lead the commissioner to discover a shocking truth. "6 Passi nel giallo" is the new six-episode thriller fiction, born in collaboration with Sony and Mediaset, which will air next autumn on Canale5. Two important names like Lamberto Bava and Edoardo Margheriti have been involved in the project, as well as Roy Bava, son of Lamberto and grandson of the great Mario. After numerous experiences as an assistant director, Roy Bava makes his directorial debut with this episode of "6 Passi nel giallo", and unfortunately, it shows that it is indeed a debut: "Gemelle" is the classic innocent, simplistic, poorly interpreted, and overly predictable TV movie. For charity's sake, Bava junior gets by with what little is asked of him, that is, directing an episode for a TV movie series not written by him and that seems to be part of any episode of the series "Ris". Mediaset made "6 Passi nel giallo" because it is tired of being colonized by American TV series: the established goal is to make Italy, for once, colonize the foreign market. One wonders how one can be convinced that such a banal product can attract foreign attention; barring the fact that for the moment we have only seen one of the six episodes, we are waiting to see what Lamberto Bava and Edoardo Margheriti have come up with. But if the intentions are these, it is better to leave it alone! Roy Bava directs a product that has nothing to add to so many stories that have been told in cinema and television; his "Gemelle" should pay homage to the Italian thrillers of the 1970s, but the elements that refer to a certain type of film are completely lost. The narrative plot flows in a static manner, the characters are thrown in without worrying too much about making too many psychological-characteristic in-depth analyses and what could be the final solution of the whole story seems so predictable that the viewer thinks that "it can't be like this, it would be too banal!" Instead, the ending holds no surprises, except for an explanation as to why certain events occurred during the story. Everything runs smoothly, too smoothly, from the first to the last minute; there are no plot twists, there are no situations that in some way contribute to increasing the viewer's curiosity, there is no atmosphere, there is no involvement, in short, total emptiness. Technically, "Gemelle" is realized in a too detached manner and here one wonders how many restrictions were imposed on the debutant Bava. The actors seem to have come out of the set of "Centovetrine": cold, impersonal, with those faces of tormented actors that certainly do not help to make the viewing more enjoyable. Here too the blame is to be attributed to a screenplay, written by Stefano Piani and Stefano Sudriè, that does not make the slightest effort to enhance the protagonists of this project. The protagonist Daniele Pecci ("Manuale d'amore 3", "Mine Vaganti") is such an anonymous commissioner that one misses Richie, the first commissioner of the series "Rex" (the one with the dog); Erica Durance ("Smallville") is perhaps the most convincing of the entire cast, thanks more than anything to that sex appeal that hides the many flaws of her double character. Completing the cast are Thomas Arana and Veronica Lazar, who certainly do not contribute to improving the situation. "Gemelle" is the classic disposable product that was not needed; it's a shame because the idea of resuming, through a TV series, a certain type of Italian cinema that for years has been the object of foreign envy, was intriguing. The only hope is that Lamberto Bava and Edoardo Margheriti have made more convincing and more authorial episodes than this one. And meanwhile, grandfather Mario is laughing... perhaps.