The RAPA series, broadcast from this week on Arte, is a perfect specimen of “Latin black”, Latin poar with burning intrigue.
No, a thriller is not necessarily “freezing”! The series Rapabroadcast from Thursday, February 13, on Arte, will finally warm us up for a few harsh weeks of winter temperatures, thanks to a rather burning atmosphere. This Spanish thriller of Jorge Cora, released in 2022 on the other side of the Pyrenees, plunges viewers into the heart of Galicice, renowned for its superb breathing in a breathtaking wild landscapes, but which can also hide a very dark side, like the already suggested the film AS BESTAS From Rodrigo Sorogoyen the same year.
The intrigue of Rapa Starts when Tomàs Hernàndez, a teacher walking on the cliffs of the small town of Cedeira, discovers the dying body of Amparo Seoane, the appreciated mayor officiating for 30 years. Sergeant Maite Estévez from the Civil Guard, supported by a superior from Madrid, conducts the investigation. His suspicions first focus on a junkie that the victim helped financially. As for Tomàs, obsessed with this affair which finally gives meaning to his life, he collects information on his side, despite his fragile health.
Over the 6 55-minute episodes, this atypical duo made up of the policewoman and the Fouineur professor will come up against a community withdrawn from herself, where everyone seems to have secrets to hide. A second murder is committed, launching a race against the agonizing watch to identify the culprit, in an atmosphere of old quarrels and corruption.
An actor not quite unknown
Director Jorge Coira, already noticed for the series Hierro On Arte, which took place in the Canaries, wonderfully exploits the grandiose and disturbing natural sets of the cliffs and Galician coasts, which reinforce the sticky atmosphere. The raw and wild landscapes contrast with the bonhomie of the main character, embodied by Javier Cámara.
Fetish actor of Pedro Almodóvar seen in “speaks with her” or “bad education”, Javier Cámara is also known to the seriesphiles for his roles of cardinal in The Young Pope And The New Pope on Canal+. Its rounding and subtlety interpretation is the great strength of Rapaalongside well -tied twists imagined by the Coscenarist Franc Araújo, already behind the excellent Spanish series Antistidturbios And Paraiso.
Carried by a deaf tension, ambiguous characters and destabilizing revelations, Rapa could well help the “black Latin”, Spanish or Latino thriller, to win in the face of the hegemony of Nordic thrillers in recent years, which have imposed Norwegian fjords and Swedish forests as essential sets of the genre. Lovers of chills and Moite atmosphere will appreciate.