The movie The Jazz Singer from 1927, has a double weight in the history of cinema. On the one hand, it is the first musical in the film industry worldwide. The director, Alan Crosland, turned the story of a man in search of pursuing his vocation as a musician into an artistic staging. Based on the Broadway musical of the same name, It combined a sharp and well-told narrative about human pain, with an outstanding musical section.
Which makes the feature film another milestone in the film industry. It is also the first film that delves into its narrative from the perspective of drama. From the life of a tragic character in search of redemption, to his triumph on stage, after long years of struggle. The film praises the best of the human being, while delving into fear and, in the end, hope through an artistic and, undoubtedly, allegorical point of view. It was the first step into a genre that has become capital in cinema and that gave him several of his most memorable works.
Streaming platforms are not immune to its influence. Therefore, several of its best contents belong to stories that exalt emotions and a spiritual perspective. At the same time, those who explore the great moral and intellectual dilemmas. To delve deeper into the topic, we leave you the best five drama series released on Netflix this year. From a debate about ethics and the pain caused by a violent event, to an increasingly serious social crisis. The selection covers all kinds of interesting stories with a common element. Human nature in its defects and virtues.
a normal family
Adam (Björn Bengtsson) and Ulrika (Lo Kauppi), they lead an ordinary life, until their daughter Stella Fifteen-year-old (Alexandra Karlsson Tyrefors) is raped. Despite the seriousness of the crime, they decide to keep it secret, to prevent a complicated trial that could make the whole situation more traumatic. But the emotional consequences of a similar act of violence extend years later.
The script by Hans Jörnlind and Anna Platt adapts the work of writer Mattias Edvardsson based on its central premise. The way in which a brutal event can mark the future not only of the victim, but of everyone around them. Little by little, the plot shows the way in which fear and guilt become critical points in the first years of Stella’s adult life. At the same time, in an irreparable crack in their parents’ relationship.
With the sober photography of Gustav Danielsson, who turns the spaces into allegories of loneliness, the series is a tortuous reflection on violence. Likewise, an ethical debate that does not find answers, but that leaves, in its wake, a bitter moral. No one can escape the consequences of their actions.
The light you can’t see
Based on the book of the same name by Anthony Doerr, the series tells an unusual angle on World War II. From the young people who must face the Nazi occupation and submit to their ranks to avoid dying, to those who secretly fight against the enemy. The light you can’t see, analyzes the dilemma of neutrality and moral position in the midst of a devastating war conflict.
Much more, meditate on the reasons why people actively act against unjust acts. Between a story with moral overtones and a dramatic look at an event that marked the 20th century, the series also analyzes contemporary ethics. Everything, through the need to maintain humanity in the middle of a brutal event that destroyed Europe and left irreparable consequences.
For its final chapters, the production leaves a powerful message in its wake. That of the ability of any person to stop suffering, fear and violence. Perhaps the most hopeful point of this pessimistic plot.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
Bridgertonbased on the books by Julia Queen, It has been an audience and critical success. So it is not surprising that the story of one of his most emblematic characters became a spin-off of the central premise.
However, the miniseries that tells the romance between Queen Charlotte (India Amarteifio) and King George (Corey Mylchreest) is much more than a derivative production. In reality, it is a sensitive narrative about love in the midst of a tragic situation and above all, in the center of the stage of power.
Set during the youth of both monarchs, the script details not only the first meeting between the young people, but the king’s mental illness. An element that will turn a real marriage into an emotional and intellectual challenge for the couple. At the same time, in a dilemma that England will have to deal with between the threads of influence and manipulation. The most complicated scenario in a story that moves between several different genres, but finds its best moments in drama.
The body on fire
On May 4, 2017, the body of police officer Pedro Rodríguez was found burned by the Barcelona Urban Police. It would be the beginning of one of the toughest and most tragic cases that both the city and the police force have had to face. The crime involved not only the victim’s wife, but another of his colleagues in a twisted love triangle. So it quickly became a case that called into question the ethics of the institution.
The Serie The body on fire, recounts the details surrounding the judicial and criminal investigation of the case. At the same time, it details how the relationship between Rosa Peral (Úrsula Corberó) and Albert López (Quim Gutiérrez) went from being a clandestine romance to a more dangerous circumstance. Especially when it was the ideal terrain to plan the violent murder of Pedro (José Manuel Poga). Gradually, the loving couple built a scenario in which they covered up each other’s alibis. However, once the murder was discovered, both became implacable enemies.
Between true crime and fiction, the plot addresses thorny points such as moral degradation, the suffering of the victim’s environment and the violence of the guilty. That, thanks to a great script that manages to encompass the sinister drama from all its facets.
Lethal Medicine
The productionsix episodes, mixes the article The family that built an empire of pain by Patrick Radden Keefe and Pain Killer: an empire of deception and the origin of the opioid epidemic from the United States by Barry Meier. Both approaches delve into the very serious opioid crisis that is currently considered a public health problem in North America. But beyond the testimony of data and specific references, The plot focuses on how addictions are a visible wound in the country’s culture.
From the formulation of broad-spectrum pain reliever OxyContin and the growth of manufacturer Purdue Pharma. The series focuses its interest on the dark background of the pharmaceutical world and its importance today. However, the most sensitive point is the way in which it analyzes the suffering of addicts. First, victims of debilitating illnesses and injuries and finally, of violent medical circumstance. The most dramatic point of the plot.