‘Malditos' Is a Brooding, Operatic French Drama
The French drama 'Malditos' (in French, with subtitles, or dubbed), on Max, is set within a traveler community whose members are about to be displaced from the dilapidated carnival fairgrounds where they live and work. The show hits brutal, operatic highs, with its deadly scheming playing out against the dramatic landscape of Camargue, in southern France. Give us blinding fraternal strife, and give it to us on a sun-bleached salt flat.
Sara (Céline Sallette), who instead of a crown and a scepter has a scowl and a cigarette, is determined to keep the clan together. But everyone around her has different ideas about how to scrounge up enough money — and enough mutual will — to do so.
Especially her sons. The brash, excitable son, Tony (Darren Muselet), wants to get into the lucrative drug market — or maybe he wants to run away with his girlfriend, who is from a rival clan. The brooding, bitter son, Jo (Pablo Cobo), who was forced to abandon his career ambitions, has his own vision for leadership, one he honed during years of estrangement from his mother and brother. Sara, Tony and Jo all think they are keeping the same secret, but they aren't quite.
The show wears its Shakespearean power-jockeying as comfortably as its track jackets. 'You're a real prince,' a vulnerable man stutters at Jo, begging for his life. Every bright idea just illuminates the path toward a more severe catastrophe, and pretty soon, the bodies are piling up. Some are even being exhumed.
Violence abounds, both in harebrained shoot-em-ups and in the startling volatility of a bull. One person might be leveled by a mob-led beat-down or by the punishing rains of an unrelenting storm. Another might be swallowed up by oppressive gender roles or spit out by expensive real estate regulations.
A few of the twists and turns here can feel a little predictable, and all that glowering starts losing its impact after a while. But the show has plenty of fresh ideas and true surprises in its specifics and realism, in its characters' rites and traditions. 'Malditos' teases out how religion, superstition and harshly enforced cultural customs are both the fabric and the rend. There's a bright beauty to a tough-guy dad tenderly officiating a poetic marriage ritual, and also a cold horror at the bride's numb concessions and deep despair.
Four episodes are available now, and the remaining three arrive on Fridays.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
5 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Poland holds a pivotal presidential runoff influenced by Trump, the far right and the war in Ukraine
WARSAW, Poland — Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election on Sunday between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country's future. The winner will succeed President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome will determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos will be released when polls close on Sunday at 9 p.m. local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected Monday.
CNN
10 minutes ago
- CNN
US senators meet with Zelensky in Kyiv as doubt cast over upcoming Ukraine-Russia peace talks
A bipartisan pair of US senators met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday and urged stronger sanctions against Russia, while uncertainty swirls over whether the next round of peace talks will move ahead in the coming days. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut met with Zelensky and other top Ukrainian officials in the capital. Their visit came just days after Russia launched its biggest aerial assault against Ukraine since the start of the war, and as the US ramps up pressure on Moscow to end the three-year conflict. Among the topics discussed were the ongoing peace talks and proposed legislation to strengthen US sanctions against Russia, according to a statement from the Ukrainian presidential office. Graham and Blumenthal are co-sponsoring a bipartisan bill to impose more sanctions on Russia – a notion that has gained support among a number of Republican lawmakers in recent weeks as Moscow steps up its deadly aerial assaults. Graham said lawmakers would move forward next week with a vote on the bill, the Reuters news agency reported. The bill is supported by 82 senators from both sides of the aisle and would impose a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other products. It must pass both chambers of Congress and be approved by President Donald Trump to become law. Trump has so far held off on imposing more sanctions as he tries to negotiate a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv. However, he has threatened in the past to impose the measures if Russia doesn't agree to a truce. Asked by reporters on Friday if he would support the bill, Trump responded: 'I don't know, I'll have to see it. I'll take a look at it.' Graham said Friday he had talked with Trump before his trip and the US president expects 'concrete action' from Moscow, according to Reuters. The visit comes as Ukrainian officials raised questions about planned peace talks in Istanbul on Monday – as they say Russia has yet to send its negotiating proposals, a key demand of Kyiv's. 'For a meeting to be meaningful, its agenda must be clear, and the negotiations must be properly prepared,' Zelensky wrote on X on Friday after hosting Turkey's foreign minister for talks in Kyiv. Zelensky also said he spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, writing on Telegram: 'We share the view that this meeting cannot and should not be empty.' 'Neither we in Ukraine nor Turkey as the host side have any information about Russia's so-called memorandum,' he said in his evening address, accusing Russia of 'hiding' its memorandum from both countries. Ukraine has already provided its own version of a peace memorandum, officials say. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday that Moscow would present its memorandum during the next round of talks. Zelensky said he and his Turkish counterpart also spoke about the possibility of organizing a four-way meeting with the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and the United States to further facilitate peace negotiations. In recent weeks, the US president has become visibly frustrated with Russia over its deadly attacks on Ukraine and the lack of progress on peace talks. Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed holding 'direct talks' in Turkey earlier this month – but never showed up, despite Zelensky agreeing to meet. In the end, the two nations sent low-level delegations to negotiate instead. A large-scale prisoner exchange, the biggest since the start of the war, was the only significant outcome, with both sides agreeing to release 1,000 prisoners on each side – but it was overshadowed by ongoing Russian attacks at the same time. Trump voiced frustration with Putin at the time, saying: 'We're in the middle of talking, and he's shooting rockets into Kyiv and other cities.'
Associated Press
22 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Poland holds a pivotal presidential runoff influenced by Trump, the far right and the war in Ukraine
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election on Sunday between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country's future. The winner will succeed President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome will determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos will be released when polls close on Sunday at 9 p.m. local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected Monday. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the agenda of the centrist government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk thanks to the presidential power to veto laws. An unpredictable vote at a time of tensions The vote comes amid heightened regional tensions driven by Russia's war in neighboring Ukraine, security concerns across Europe and internal debates about the rule of law. It follows a first round on May 18, in which Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski won more than 31% of the vote and Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian, earned nearly 30%. Eleven other candidates were eliminated. Opinion polls show the two men running neck and neck. Other factors add to the unpredictability. Nawrocki did much better in the first round than surveys had predicted, indicating that his strength was underestimated. On the other hand, large numbers of Poles abroad have registered to vote in the second round, which could help Trzaskowski. The candidates Nawrocki is a 42-year-old historian who was tapped as by the national conservative Law and Justice party despite a lack of political experience or party membership. But this is seen as acting in his favor, as the party, which governed for 2015-2023, seeks to refresh its image before a parliamentary election in 2027. Nawrocki's supporters describe him as the embodiment of traditional, patriotic Polish values. They believe U.S. President Donald Trump's support for him will strengthen Poland's ties with the United States and make the country safer. Trzaskowski, 53, is Warsaw's mayor and a close ally of Tusk. A deputy leader of Civic Platform, a pro-European Union party, he has been prominent in national politics for years. This is his second presidential bid after narrowly losing to Duda in 2020. Supporters credit him with modernizing Warsaw through infrastructure, public transit expansion and cultural investments. He is widely seen as pragmatic and focused on strengthening ties with other European nations. A global ideological war Nawrocki recently received a boost from Trump and other U.S. conservatives, who see the Polish election as part of a global battle between liberal and populist right-wing forces. His campaign has echoed themes popular on the American right, including skepticism toward EU bureaucracy and emphasis on Christian identity. His supporters feel that Trzaskowski, with his pro-EU views, would hand over control of key Polish issues to Paris and Berlin. Nawrocki also has been endorsed by the Trump administration and conservative Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Many European centrists are rooting for Trzaskowski, seeing in him someone who would defend democracy as it faces pressure from authoritarian forces across the globe. He has received the support of new centrist Romanian President Nicusor Dan — who recently defeated a far-right nationalist. Nawrocki's scandals Nawrocki has faced a number of scandals over the past months, but it's not clear that they are hurting him. In fact, they might have the opposite effect. Many right-wing voters don't believe the allegations and accuse the media of using its power to hurt him, creating what appears to be a rallying effect around him. Nawrocki himself has acknowledged that he took part in an organized brawl including football hooligans in 2009. A former boxer, he said he has taken part in various forms of 'noble male battle' in his life. Polish media have also reported on his connections to gangsters and the world of prostitution. Tusk accused Law and Justice party leader Jarosław Kaczynski of tapping Nawrocki despite questions about his past. 'You knew about everything, Jarosław. About the connections with the gangsters, about 'fixing girls,'' Tusk wrote on X. 'The entire responsibility for this catastrophe falls on you!' The key issues at stake 1. Security and war in Ukraine: With Russia's war in Ukraine in its fourth year, Polish voters are acutely attuned to issues of regional security. Both candidates support continued backing for Ukraine, but to different degrees. Nawrocki believes that Ukraine should never join NATO, while Trzaskowski believes Ukraine should be allowed to join one day when the current war is over. 2. Rule of law and democracy: Trzaskowski has pledged to support the restoration of judicial independence and repair relations with the EU, which viewed changes by Law and Justice as anti-democratic. Tusk has tried to change some legislation, but has faced resistance from the the outgoing president, Duda. Nawrocki, while less outspoken than his party patrons, is seen as likely to preserve Law and Justice's changes that politicized the courts. 3. Women's rights: Abortion remains a divisive issue in Poland, especially after a near-total ban was imposed under Law and Justice. Trzaskowski supports loosening restrictions and has backed proposals to legalize abortion up to 12 weeks. Nawrocki opposes any liberalization and has campaigned as a defender of traditional conservative values.
