‘Fog and Crimes – The Complete Season One’ Review

After watching Gomorrah moving to another Italian crime drama was something of a relief from the violent and dark world of the Mafia.  Fog and Crimes – The Complete Season One is a more sedate trip into the world of a detective who doesn’t really go for the violent approach, but when he sets his sights on a case Soneri (Luca Barbareschi) never lets go.

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Based on the novels by Valerio Varesi the first season of Fog and Crimes features four investigations that have more of a historical feel to them.  Touching on not only the past of Italy the stories also focus on criminal pasts and dips into the life of Soneri himself as he fights to solve the crimes.

I will admit to not knowing much about Italian history, but watching Inspector De Luca I found that a good reference for the effect World War 2 had on the country.  This makes the first episode of Fog and Crimes interesting as it touches on the past and revenge for things that happened back then.  While the other episodes touched on years far closer to the present they still have a “cold case” feel to them, where events that happened years before are coming back to haunt people.

One of the main things that make Fog and Crimes: The Complete Season One entertaining enough to keep you watching rests on the shoulders of Luca Barbareschi.  His version of Soneri is an excellent detective who fights to discover the truth, at whatever cost.  While the Italian justice system fights to just get cases closed he refuses to let go, much to people’s annoyance.  The fact that he also manages to pick up a few waifs and strays of the police department too shows his nature, he doesn’t give up on people who the rest have decided aren’t up to scratch.  He gets the best out of people.

I think it is fair to say that Fog and Crimes: The Complete Season One may not be for everybody of course, Soneri is not an action hero, if anything you could compare him to Peter Falk’s Columbo.  A few times you see him in dangerous situations and he is the one likely to come off the worst in the encounter.  This show is more Midsomer Murders than CSI.  This isn’t a negative thing though as the more relaxed nature of the show is a nice change from the more action packed shows that are often more popular.  It’s nice sometimes to be able to sit back and be part of the investigation instead of watching gunfights and explosions.

Seeing that there are three seasons of the show I’m glad that Arrow Films have taken Fog and Crimes: The Complete Season One and decided to release it in the United Kingdom, it may not be a huge show like Gomorrah but it does have its place on television and in people’s DVD collections.  This is one for the fans of the more sedate detective show that can still tackle the darker story lines and even catch onto your emotions.  Interesting and entertaining this is one for drama fans looking for something a little different.

Fog and Crimes: The Complete Season One is available on DVD in the UK now.

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