Merlí

No reviews to date? Seriously? One supposes that is mainly because it speaks a language (Catalán) with which relatively few Europeans or Americans are familiar. Yet it appears regularly on YouTube with Spanish and even on occasion badly translated English subtitles. No excuses, however. A splendidly scripted, acted, and filmed TV series like this deserves better attention.

The narrative centers on a teacher and his philosophy class in a contemporary Barcelona high school. Each episode follows the teacher's life both at home and in the context of how he interacts with a specific set of acquaintances drawn from that milieu. No punches are pulled where the tone and depth of such relationships are concerned; fine and coarse language intermingle freely, as do sexual tensions involving all the characters.

But the most surprising aspect to me is how thoroughly expert and technically adept an obviously low budget film from a region lying at the northern extremity of its EU country succeeds in every way at generating a first-class production. I like everything about it: the musical track, the use of lighting, the camera work, and the direction. It is equally startling to discover in a minor TV series actors of all ages and kinds delivering top performances. Any language barrier fades away, almost as if it were a silent film with subtitles barely visible.

Now in its second season, this one should be a "must see" for the avid film fan.