January is complicated for the world of cinema. Also for Netflix. The industry must find a balance between maintaining the pace of December releases — without always achieving it — and new offerings. All, amid the discouragement of the first days of the year and the hustle and bustle of awards season. The truth is that the film billboard needs to find a middle ground between being attractive and assuming that it is the beginning of a new annual cycle. With all the little pitfalls and problems that this can entail.
But, for online platforms, the dilemma is much simpler. In fact, the first month of the year has become a showcase that shows everything that subscribers can expect from now on. From the announcements of new original content to what will progressively reach the catalogues. January is the ideal time to make clear the growth in both the programming and the ambition of the different industries. What it encompasses, of course, the great titles that will swell the most popular collections and lists.
To make reviewing this wide selection easier, we leave you five premieres that will arrive on Netflix in the last weeks of the month. From the controversial biography of a criminal to the first film of a beloved Spanish actor. The list is interesting enough to turn some of the titles into essential ones that you should enjoy from now on in a few days. One of its points of greatest interest.
Kübra
Premiere: January 18
Gökhan (Çağatay Ulusoy, from Hakan) has never been a big believer in the supernatural. Much less, while he is going through a particularly dark and depressing stage of his life. That is, until he begins to receive mysterious messages that end up becoming predictions about the future.
Everything becomes worse when what seems to be the result of chance turns the character into a kind of involuntary messiah. Which will lead him to be admired by a legion of fervent followers, as hated by enemies behind the scenes, discovered by the phenomenon.
Turkish productions have become one of Netflix’s rare hits. And Kübra in particular, has everything to become the obsession of great fans of country stories. With a supernatural touch and appropriate reflection on unexplained events and their possible consequences, the plot is mysterious and well constructed. With Istanbul as the setting and an intelligent script that becomes unpredictable, It is ideal for lovers of suspense plots with a touch of horror.
The legacy
Premiere: January 19
Yun Seo-ha (Kim Hyun-joo), receives what is, perhaps, the biggest surprise of his life when an unknown relative inherits him a property. Specifically, a cemetery of considerable antiquity. Immediately, the young woman will also face not only what it means to take possession of what is considered sacred property. At the same time, deal with the secrets that the land and the surrounding places that now belong to it keep.
What might seem like the premise of a horror story is actually the beginning of a series of increasingly dangerous situations that Yun Seo-ha will have to deal with. Much more, when it is evident that the cemetery keeps some mysteriesmore related to the world of crime than to that of spirits.
Faithful to the tradition of South Korean productions, the Netflix series takes time to reveal its enigmas. But when he does it, the action becomes a very mundane and violent perception about evil.
My loneliness has wings
Premiere: January 20
Actor Mario Casas ventures into directing — and also writing the script — with a growth story that is very much an emotional epic for Netflix. The story of a boy trying to find his place in the world, amid the pressure of the streets and the carelessness of the group around him, is not new. What could be, is the way in which the film sensitively analyzes its characters. Also, the journey that shows through all the experiences that the first years of his life as an adult bring with him.
For the occasion, Casas recruited his brother Oscar for the lead role. But the center of this plot, full of good intentions and enthusiasm, is the music of an inspired soundtrack that pays tribute to the eighties and nineties of the last century. However, the most interesting thing about the plot remains the attention to detail in how its protagonists mature step by step. At the same time, they become more aware of the way in which art is the great vehicle to turn away from the dark side of life.
Maybe a little topical and messy at times, My loneliness has wings, is a great celebration of youth and debauchery. Ideal to start the new year with a production that leaves some questions about life and youthful uncertainty.
Captivate a king
Premiere: January 21
More South Korean melodrama from Netflix for lovers of the genre. This time, with medieval historical overtones and also, with an intriguing perspective about power and also influence. As its name indicates, the series follows Yi In (Jo Jung-suk), a king isolated by court intrigue and who must also face the fact of a country in crisis. In the middle of a similar situation, he takes refuge on the board. go, a complicated traditional Korean game. In the privacy of their rooms, the sovereign strives to try to understand his mind through what seems like a harmless pastime.
But when he must face that the people not only hate him, but that there are also tensions around him to assassinate him, he will come out of his isolation. Much more so, when he faces an enigmatic woman who matches him in character and ingenuity as a player. Yes, we all know how that ends. However, in favor of the production’s script, there is much more to its story than a sugary romance.
Griselda
Premiere: January 25
Griselda Blanco (an unrecognizable Sofía Vergara, from Modern Family), is a shrewd businesswoman who ends up heading the most dangerous cartel in Colombia. On her journey, she will not only have to face armed enemies, but also the political threads that she wants to use her influence to her advantage. Finally, those who try to capture her hostage in the middle of a complicated power game that goes beyond the law.
What might seem like Netflix’s umpteenth narcodrama is, in reality, a careful story about the dark world of crime associated with drugs. Little by little, Griselda will become a symbol of a type of brutality and violence that shows the places of power in Latin America. At the same time, the terrors of corruption and the twisted weight of crime manipulation.