Prisma

I haven't wrote a review for a while but I'm so shocked (in a positive way) about the beauty of this series that I felt I need to.

I won't spoil much but as a father of a 13 years old boy I want him to watch it with me.

It shows teenage years in such realistic way without over dramatize but never being obvious either.

The acting is so brilliant. I've been living abroad for some time now and prefer English acting over Italian especially in dramas (often too dramatic in Italian movies) but the acting from such young actors is incredible. Mattia Carrano is amazing. Took me 3 episodes to realize he was both brothers (kudos to the director too).

Music is also fantastic.

10/10.

This series speaks of a country that doesn't exist. A country where teens are free to express themselves and be whom they want to be. Yes it takes a painful journey to be free of stereotypes and society pre made gender roles.

I wish this Italy existed made by the bravery of its teenager but for sure the generation of today will be a beacon of a new hope.

The series.is made even greater by the outstanding job of its actors, especially Mattia Carrano who does the outstanding job of portraying 2 twins on complete opposite spectrum of gender identity and personality. The dialogues between the 2 of them are the miraculous act of a great actor and a great director.

The music is a fantastic representation of the mood of each scene.

The cliffhanger of season 1 end makes us want for more.

This is NOT a teenager drama but the depiction of a society that keeps renewing itself.

One of the best contemporary italian shows in my opinion. It talks about profound themes: feeling lost as teenagers, discovering sexuality and queerness, revenge porn, internalised homophobia, and more... Everything is told with such delicacy and without ever coming across as banal. Not to mention the phenomenal work of Mattia Carrani who plays both the two main characters (i hadn't realise until the end titles) but also the rest of the cast. Chef kiss also to the soundtrack curated by the (unfortunately) unknown composer Ginevra Nervi which created a fil rouge throughout the various episodes of both first and second seasons.

I didn't really know what to expect from this one, I was just pretty hyped since I already fell in love with Ludovico Bessegato's previous work, SKAM Italia. After watching this one too, I can just say that he nailed it again: the way he and Urciolo (who also co-wrote season 5 of SKAMIt with Bessegato) approach the teen drama genre and its various themes feels delicate, real, poetic and captivating. This was such a blast from the beginning to the end, direction, writing and acting were top notch (I still can't believe this is Mattia Carrano's first experience in acting, his work on not one but TWO characters really was immense) and the song choices were so interesting. I can't say if I liked this better than SkamIt, I can just repeat that Bessegato absolutely nailed it again and that to me, this is one of the most interesting coming of age shows that I've ever seen. Don't miss it.

I wouldn't ordinarily watch a show orientated towards the teen market, the LGBTQ+ interest is what drew me following a fan video someone had made on the Internet. If I had to label which letter the show leans to towards in LGBTQ+ then I would say it definitely would be the + sign! The characters are panromantic as they experiment with their peers. Whilst some characters identify with certain more concrete labels, even they are fluid than they say.

The show generally eskews the traditional labels and lets the young cast experiment with their identities and embraces fluidity. This I found refreshing. This is not your using male centric coming out story. So definitely worth the effort.

I am presuming that as the setting, as pretty much always, is a high school and centred around the swim team the target is young teen Italians. I would safe to hazard they would also be queer and female. Although there is enough in there to interest young males too. I also like that it recognises the 'Coming out' is more organic process than is often depicted on the screen.

The show is at its best when it centres on the twins. Their respective story arcs carry the show. The side quests of the secondary characters like the girls' story lines, the swimming competitions & making a music video arc all add to the length of the show and can feel a bit confusing at times.

The story unfolds in a flash back format covering multiple time periods for all the main cast. Usually, one of the characters is the focus for these flashbacks, not too dissimilar to the Skam format but you never get a whole episode devoted to one character or arc. The synthesis of the flashbacks in the final episode is beautiful.

Not exactly a spoiler but.....

There is the usual drama left for the finale to tease a second season but the show ends as it began and stayed thoughout, in a state of ambiguity. If that's not for you and you prefer a more definite happy or sad ending maybe this show isn't for you.

I watched it in the original Italian with English subtitles. I will watch some of the episodes again in the dubbed version to catch some of what I missed first time around. I can see me going back multiple times. Maybe you will too.