On Netflix the new Italian romantic comedy that spans two eras
From the 90s to today, technology has changed devastatingly, but in the same way the conception of time and life has been overturned. From the slowness of a 56k connection that opened up a world until then very distant, we have arrived at apps that with a simple little heart make you find the date of an evening. Generation 56k (Italian TV series available on Netflix from July 1) is a light comedy that in 8 episodes tells a love story that develops through two different eras: it takes root slowly during the era of the 56k connection and suddenly explodes during the era of 5G smartphones.
The Netflix TV series was produced in collaboration with the collective The Jackal and will air on July 1. The idea is by Francesco Ebasta who also directed the first four episodes and features Angelo Spagnoletti, Cristina Cappelli, Gianluca Fru, Fabio Balsamo and Claudia Tranchese.
The Story
Generation 56k tells the love story between Daniel (Angelo Spagnoletti) and Matilda (Cristina Cappelli), two guys who fall in love while he is desperately looking for a soul mate with a dating app and she is looking for certainty while she is getting married to the perfect man. He is the creative director of a Neapolitan agency that develops apps, very insecure when it comes to love stories and surrounded by his lifelong friends: Luca (Gianluca Fru, among the contestants of the recent LOL on Amazon Prime) and Sandro (Fabio Balsamo); she is the seemingly secure girl ready for marriage, who has to deal with a troubled past and a thousand uncertainties.
In reality, the two protagonists have known each other since they were children living on the island of Procida. He is the swaggering boy who challenged the bully, but was clumsy in love and had a crush on the most beautiful girl. She is the friend of the popular girl: she dressed like a tomboy, was secretly in love with Daniel and at the same time the difficult family situation (her father had abandoned the family to live his dream away from the island) had made her mature quickly.
The meeting revives the feelings between the two, complicates their lives, overwhelms them and allows them to rediscover themselves. They have changed, the world around them is completely different, but what they feel deep down is still the same. We realize this while we hear in the background the songs of 883 that act as a glue between the two eras (here is one of the most famous collections).
The location: the island of Procida
The choice of Procida as the location of the part dedicated to the '90s is not accidental. From the island, the kids looked at the big city of Naples in the distance, almost unreachable (apart from the feat of little Matilda who alone crosses the sea to look for her father who had abandoned her). The only way to connect to the outside world was that 56k modem. The island of Procida is therefore a contrast to the great availability of information and the ease of access today when we have everything at our fingertips, boundaries fall and distances are reduced.
Technology from the 90s to today
A 56k modem is the tool that allows Daniel to bring innovation among the children of the island and Matilda to find her father. However, we see many objects symbolic of those years, from VHS tapes that were copied, to floppy disks and walkmans. We also see the elevator that once did not allow people to meet and in today's frenzy can become a tool to stop for a moment and let a love be born. Or there can be a bottle that collects messages that will be read many years later, but will remain in time, as opposed to a message on an app, very quick and volatile.