Thou Shalt Not Kill

My wife and I watched all 4 seasons (48 episodes) and we both thoroughly enjoyed the series which is usual as we often don't like the same shows. It had interesting murder plots in most all episodes mixed with an ongoing family related mystery theme that weaved through all four seasons. The cast and acting was decent and the Turin area scenery was scenic and interesting. While there was a lot of in-office romantic nonsense among the key players, as well as questionable procedural practices at times, the cast and plots kept things moving for us both. My wife liked the romantic stuff more than me and I enjoyed the many attractive Italian women who appeared throughout. The final episode was a bit of a disappointment to us both and we wondered what the writers and producers were thinking with a series wrap like that. Two thumbs up anyway.

The lead actress is so clearly able to think that you can see her insights and perceptions developing right onscreen.

'Non uccidere' may be the first crime series coming from Italy that I have ever seen. It's quite an unexpected source for the genre, Italian cinema being quite famous for neo-realism, for comedies, for historical dramas or for the very personal and creative movies of great directors like Fellini. We do have of course the horror stories of Dario Argento, but these are a genre by themselves. Cerebral crime stories are not what I would have considered an Italian specialty, and that is why 'Non uccidere' created by Claudio Corbucci is quite a surprise for me, and a good one, I should say.

I have watched the 12 episodes in the first two seasons, broadcast by ARTE TV, which have been realized in 2015 and 2016. There is a third season that I am yet to see but I need to find a good opportunity and some time. The episodes come in pairs of 40-45 minutes each and I suspect that some stations may have transmitted longer episodes joining two series each time. There are two plans of parallel action - one is a procedural forensics crime drama which finds its solution at the end of the second episode in the pair, the other is a longer thread also comprising a criminal element and involving the main character, police captain Valeria Ferro and her mother, out of jail after serving time for killing Valeria's father. The stories take place in Torino and around the city. I've never been to this city, but I feel that I know it a little after having seen 'Non uccidere'.

There are a lot of reasons to like these series. The stories are well written and their solutions make sense. Most of the characters are credible and acting is good. The only minus if this can be called a minus is that the lead actress Miriam Leone looks too young and too beautiful for her role. The stories tend to take place in various social medias that the script authors and episode directors seem to know quite well - working people and immigrants living in the less fortunate areas of the city, or very rich people in their sumptuous villas. One of the most interesting couple of episodes takes place in a nuns convent. The makers of the series adapted well their cinematographic tools using elements of neo-realist cinema in some of the episodes, or approaching the stories as melodramas for riches in other. Overall this forensic crime drama with touches of soap opera works quite well.

Overall I really liked this crime series, having watched many others from the UK, Sweden, and France. Some of the stories are better than others, and the switch off to background drama between Valeria and her mother got a bit boring after awhile, for some reason. I think it is because the mother is so passive and calm that you can't imagine she was ever fired up enough to kill someone, and the switching around just interrupts the flow of the crime investigation. Valeria herself can get tiresome with her inability to ever relax or smile, and her refusal to take more realistic caution (such as having her partner with her to investigate someone dangerous in remote locations- really?) And why is she "sort of" with that much older guy, and living at home, when she could be with her obviously smitten partner or someone like him? But these are minor points of an intriguing series showing me interesting aspects of life in Turin, Italy (and do their grown children always live with their parents?) Looking forward to the second series being on PBS soon!

While there are certain flaws, this series got me hooked. Part of the pleasure is the pacing, which is somewhat relaxed but for me adds to it. Walters pbs intro makes an offhand reference to the Montalbano series which he says non uccidere is superior to and from a certain perspective, this is true. There is virtually no levity here and there are many touching scenes.