42 jours d'obscurité

It is not a thriller. If you go with that perspective, you will find it very underwhelming. It is a brilliant drama, with so many layers in its characters, events and the conclusion that it is truly refreshing after all the overly dramatized clutter you have around murder mysteries. It is not much of a mystery either, or maybe it is. However, it does seem a fairly accurate representation of the deep frustrations that surround attaining justice and closure for such crimes given the incompetency of the very system itself.

All the actors were brilliant, the protagonist in particular was phenomenal. The characters seem to behave as close to real life as one would imagine in such a scenario, and that is exactly what hooks you to this series. You truly root for almost every character in this series except for the obvious few. I know it is almost blasphemy for some, but it somewhat reminds you of 'The Wire'.

As Episode 1 of "42 Days of Darkness" (2022 release from Chile; 6 episodes of 45 to 60 min each) opens, we fins ourselves somewhere in Chile and it is "June 29, 2010". We are introduced to a family of four. The husband is on his way to dropping off the two daughters at school, The wide, a woman named Veronica, hears a knock on the door, and she opens. It's not long before we realize she has disappeared, and feared kidnapped... At this point we are 10 min into Episode 1.

Couple of comments; let me just state the obvious upfront: I was not familiar with anyone on this production team or among the actors and actresses that are in this series. The plot is super heavy (and based on a true story), and my description of the initial 10 min does not give you a good sense of what all will take place (but neither am I going to spoil it here). Bottom line: it didn't take long for me to realize that this mini-series is right up my alley. The writing is strong, the characters are fleshed out. And the setting (in Chile) is an extra bonus.

All episodes of "42 Days In Darkness" started streaming on Netflix a few weeks ago, and I'm just now catching up on it. I've seen the first 2 episodes so far and it won't be long before I'll watch the remaining 4 episodes. If you dig true crime stories, and love an "exotic" setting like this one in Chile, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

*UPDATE* I've now seen all episodes, and have upgraded my overall rating from 7 to 8 stars. The last 2 episodes are absolutely outstanding, and my main reason for upgrading my rating.

As this Chilean series, which is inspired by real events, opens a woman approaches a house that is surrounded by police. She is informed that her sister's body has been found. The action then moves back forty-two days to the time when she went missing. Verónica Montes lived in a wealthy community in the south of Chile; she was married to Mario Medina and has two daughters, Karen and Emilia. One day Karen returns home from school and finds the home empty. Mario goes to the police and tells them he has received a phone call from somebody who claims to have kidnapped his wife. While the police start their investigation lawyer Víctor Pizarro and two colleagues start their own parallel investigation, convinced that the police aren't doing a thorough job.

I thought this was a really intriguing series; I've no idea how close it is to the real events but as a drama it really works. We may know from the start that Verónica will be found dead but if anything that only makes one think more about how her body wasn't found sooner. The case is interesting and the cast do a great job bringing the characters to life. There is an understated reality to their performances rather than over-the-top highly charismatic characters. The impressive southern Chilean scenery combined with near constant rain add a great atmosphere to the already interesting story. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of the genre.

These comments are based on watching the Series in Spanish with English subtitles.

At the beginning I was not sure if I am interested in this program but I started watching and.... Wow !!! This is so interesting, excellent sightseeings, actors.... It is so real, you feel that you are there, very common people and at the same time, terrifying. Anyway, I liked it very much, and recomend it for sure....

Setting, the beautiful landscape of southern Chile on the foothill of the Andes Mountains A woman vanishes and the husband becomes a suspect. The mistery is well played on to engage the viewer sometimes abusing math technicalities but with elements to move the plot forward with an attractive whodunit. Fair twists and turns. Well conceived ending. Some characters are a bit grotesque and others too soft developed to be credible. Overall, entertaining and much better than many American run of the mill crime stories.