Philip Barantini
Adolescence

Adolescence talks about love and forgiveness. I found it a masterpiece.

Four short films "consumed" in four hours... and many points for reflection. I don't care much that it's a Netflix series. If it had been a film, it would have won the Oscar for best screenplay, acting, and directing. There are many references to past films: Breaking the Waves, Primal Fear, American Beauty, Magnolia, and finally my much-loved direct sound.-

Another important factor besides forgiveness is time. The episodes are set in very different temporal spaces to demonstrate that only the passage of time can indeed soothe the wounds and put the pieces back in their place... .

PARENTS AND CHILDREN

They are much closer than we might imagine. Jamie chooses his father as guarantor for the precautionary custody. Despite the evidence of having fathered a ruthless killer, he will guide and defend him to the end. In a sleepy and out-of-focus police station, Jamie and his father move in the light, united by unconditional love.

SCHOOL

In the second episode, it is the police officers who must immerse themselves in the decay of the school. Perhaps the episode I loved the least as it was too redundant with situations and twists. Nothing is as it seems; the anger over the loss of a dead friend and a friend in jail does not shake anyone, rather it is a catalyst for further violence and indifference.

PSYCHOTHERAPY

A very current theme, we always get there AFTER. The third episode is a gem of acting. We see Jamie in transference and a psychologist in counter-transference. The only true professional among many slackers. In forgiving herself for not doing her job adequately, she will manage, in fifty minutes of tension, to unleash the madness and fury of Jamie, the violent killer.

THE FAMILY

In this last episode, the family questions their future survival. It will be Jamie on the phone to give relief to his family; many months have passed and the boy will declare himself guilty...