Netflix doesn’t brag much about this series. But this is a gem! [RECENZJA]

Supposedly, these are hour-long (i.e. long) episodes, supposedly virtually zero promotion, the names are not very well-known, and the topic is not very current, but don’t let that fool you. Since Thursday, it has had a fantastic series in the black comedy genre on its platform. “Dekameron” is a combination of “Miracle Workers”, “Bridgertons” and “1670”.

Netflix. “The Decameron” Like Love in the Time of Cholera

We are transported to the difficult turn of the late Middle Ages and the early Renaissance. Italy is ravaged by another plague epidemic, the corpses are piling up, but fortunately a group of self-important and not particularly intelligent noblemen can count on the help of a mutual friend. They end up at the country estate of a certain Leonardo and there they hope that the plague air will not reach them. The idyllic setting and the wonderfully beautiful castle are the main stage for the absurd events that will take place in the series – no one here is who they say they are, thanks to which we are exposed to a charming comedy of errors and a galaxy of disgusting characters, which are a lot of fun to watch.

The Decameron Photo: Netflix

This is a series that does not care about historical realities at all. It has characters that are both extremely predictable (like the bigot Neifile) and completely unpredictable in their absurdity (Pampinea). Apart from a significant part of the characters’ names, it has a lot in common with the real “Decameron”, because the one from the late Middle Ages by Boccaccio is exceptionally bawdy and describes all kinds of abominations committed by the wealthy people of Florence. The creators of the series willingly and widely draw on the stories written by Boccaccio, and an attentive reader will find here a lot of references to the literary original. All of this is interwoven, like a tapestry, with references to the present day. It is not, like “1670”, a screen adaptation of what is going on in the heads of Millennials. It is also not a collection of gags and it is impossible to watch this series without following the proper order. The serial “Decameron” is a charming and quite bloody story, with unpredictable plot twists. It’s closer to The Miracle Workers with Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi, which explored different eras in a wonderfully lighthearted and history-shy way over the course of its seasons.

Unlike Pasolini’s “Decameron,” this film does not adapt the stories that bored nobility tell every day to pass the time. Some of the plots from these stories are transferred directly to the characters, so that in the series we are dealing with a variation on what happens in the literary “Decameron” when no one is telling a story.

It’s absurd, disgusting, and very, very addictive. Eight hour-long episodes can be easily and painlessly swallowed in less than a day. And although our pandemic is now happily behind us, the series allows us to not only recall what happened in the middle of lockdown, when we all felt like we were on the verge of losing our minds, but also what it might have looked like if we didn’t live in modern times, but a few centuries earlier. Without access to streaming and the internet, we would have had to provide ourselves with a significant portion of our entertainment. Would it look like “The Decameron”? It’s possible.

Meme! Photo: Kultura.gazeta.pl