In recent years, although there are not too many foreign TV dramas related to drugs and gangsters, almost every drama is a classic. The series and its spin-off "Narcos: Mexico" series, etc., while the Italian series includes the "Gomorrah" series produced by Sky TV. There are historical stories that actually happened in these dramas, as well as fictional stories, but each story tells us what a complicated relationship and what a bloody struggle behind the drug and gang problems in today's world. .
In 2020, a TV series "Zero Zero Zero" co-created by the emerging power of online drama Amazon and Sky Italia appeared in front of us. This limited series with only eight episodes once again aimed the camera at the dangers that endanger the world. The drug problem, although this topic is already a commonplace for us audiences, but like the producer of this show, Amazon, which is rich and ambitious, the ambition of this show is also not small, it is not like those Like the predecessors, focusing on the drug problem in a certain corner of the world, but through a broader perspective, to show us a "Game of Thrones" full of blood and money.
We all know that the most basic element for a business to be achieved is to have a seller and a buyer; and if the amount of a business is large enough, when the seller and the buyer are not at ease with each other, the business also needs a Third-party intermediaries or guarantors are involved. This is the case in normal business, and even more so in drug business. In the first episode of "Zero Zero", the whole episode tells three stories, and the camera is aimed at the three traders of a transaction: the seller in Monterrey, Mexico, the seller in Calabria, Italy. Buyers, and middlemen in New Orleans, USA. The Italians send the money to the Americans, the Americans pay the Mexicans a deposit and send the drugs to Italy on a suitable ship, and after the drugs are received, the Americans pay the rest of the money to the Mexicans. This may seem like a mundane transaction to the third party, but it is a crucial transaction for the parties involved in the transaction.
The first is the buyer, Mino, the godfather of the Italian gangster. After experiencing the war of usurpation by his own son, Mino, who was in his twilight years, was victorious, but he has been hiding in the cellar for safety. The family began to move, so the old godfather spent all his money, bought 5 tons of drugs from the Mexicans through the Americans, and brought business to the major families through the unique purchase channel, thus consolidating his dominance. For him , this business must not be unexpected.
Next is the middleman, Edward, an American. Edward, who was widowed in his early years, managed the business together with his son and daughter. However, his son had to take drugs for a long time due to a rare genetic disease, so his son could hardly count on it. My own daughter is working. But obviously, the slump in the global economy in recent years has also affected the middleman who earns the price difference. He bought all his belongings and bought a huge ocean-going ship specially used for this transaction. For him, this business must not be unexpected.
Finally, the sellers are the Mexican Leila brothers. For them, this huge amount of business is also not allowed to have the slightest accident. For this reason, they even bought Manuel, an officer of the Mexican special forces, to ensure that the transaction will not have any problems in Mexico. error.
But we all know that in many cases, the more you are afraid of accidents, the faster the accidents will appear in front of you, and you can't hide.
In Italy, Stefano, the grandson of the old godfather, colluded with another family, and launched a bloody usurpation war again. In order to completely defeat his grandfather, Stefano not only wanted to physically destroy the old godfather, but also Completely changed the five tons of drugs from his grandfather's to his own; in the United States, due to the accidental intervention of the Mexican military, Edward was hit by a bullet. Although he was wearing a bulletproof vest, the powerful impact prevented him from being able to. They survived the second day, but at this time the transaction had already begun, and Edward's sons and daughters had to bite the bullet; in Mexico, the bribed special forces officer Manuel killed by any means in order to ensure the smooth delivery of the drugs. His boss and comrades went to Brother Leila with four younger brothers. In order to show his loyalty, Manuel trained a brutal army to do dirty work for Brother Leila, but he was always despised by Brother Leila. , the friction between the two sides is increasing.
In this way, a seemingly ordinary transaction, despite its high value, turned into a murderous and complicated game of blood money after the cargo ship sailed out of the Mexican port. By the time these five tons of drugs arrived in Italy, the buyer had already completed a bloody crackdown on the usurpation war, the seller had also completed the change of dynasty among the corpses in the yard, and the middleman had changed from father, son and daughter to daughter. A solitary person.
I think this is also the reason why the show is called "Zero Zero Zero", because although the transaction is still completed, there are no shortage of sellers, buyers and middlemen, but some of them have lost their flesh and blood, and some of them have lost His close relatives, some people died tragically, and some people completely sold their souls. It's a zero-sum game for everyone involved, and only the blood-stained money wins.
This show is directed by Stefano Solima, the director who participated in "Gomora" and "Border Slayer 2", so it can be said to be very familiar with the presentation of the entire underground drug society, and this show's The expression method is also very special, that is, through the perspectives of the three parties in a transaction unfolding at the same time and intersecting each other in each episode, especially from the third episode onward, the intersection of the three main lines in each episode is more and more frequent. It's also getting more exciting. Although I have seen a lot of film and television works related to the theme, I can guess the development of this drama, but many scenes in this drama still surprise me and I am addicted to it.
One of the things that surprised me the most was the part of the defected special forces officer Manuel, who brought together the teenagers who were on the streets to watch out for drug dealers, and trained them into special forces by training them. A killing machine with powerful military qualities. Although this kind of thing has actually happened in the history of South America, this is the first time I have seen such a scene in a film and television work, and it still gave me a great impact, especially in the last episode, When I saw those gangsters who used to fire a shot without knowing where the bullets would go, they became "special operators" who were well-organized and advanced and retreated, and I still had a strong sense of fear and anxiety in my heart.
What's even more surprising is that although this show is about the underground world that we have seen countless times in film and television works, you can't see any facialized characters in this show. The old godfather's wandering between forgiveness and anger, Manuel's entanglement between human nature and sin, and Emma's life-and-death choices, etc., each character is colorful, and you can't help it This is the essence of this drama.
After watching the show, my mind was filled with the famous line from the video game World of Warcraft: "The kingship does not last forever." All contradictions and conflicts arise because of this. Times are always developing, people are always getting old, and wealth cannot stay in one’s pocket forever. If it is shaken, there will be some people who want to consolidate, and some people who want to fight for it.
At the end of the show, as middleman Emma walks out of the mansion, it rains. We all know that in literary language, heavy rain often means washing and innovation. This rain seems to have the same meaning here. When the heavy rain falls, everything has changed. But in fact, nothing has changed, someone can die, a certain force can disappear, but the blood-stained money will still exist, business will still exist, buyers, sellers and middlemen will still exist, drugs and violence will still exist. will still exist.
Because human "greed" is the source of all evil.
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