Sicilian views on the "Netflix Leopard"

I was in Sicily this week to scout locations for our next documentary, to be shot in October. The content of the film is yet to be tied down but it will take place in the world of the book The Leopard, or in Italian, Il Gattopardo, set in Sicily and written 70 years ago by Giuseppe Tomasi.

With that in mind I watched the 6 part Netflix Series before traveling to Sicily and then discussed the series with the Sicilians I met. I have also had a chance to ask friends in the anglophone world what they thought of the series.

My English speaking friends have been broadly very positive. They enjoyed being transported back to 19th century Sicily and sharing the lives of the Salina family. The family dynamics of the Salina tribe, the vibrant Sicilian colours, the cinematography and the amazing costumes really hit the spot with most viewers.

However my Sicilian friends are much more critical. Many of them are unwilling to watch the series at all. One said she had watched 3 minutes and then turned off in despair, another that he had seen the trailer and that was enough for him! In my opinion they feel that the book and the film are national Italian treasures that should be left alone. That Visconti’s film was so perfect that It should be left as the last word. From their perspective the work has been hijacked. Netflix is American and whilst all the cast and crew are Italian the series screenplay was written by Americans and the Director, Tom Shankland is British.

Whilst the many Italians who did watch the series enjoyed it, some have criticised the changes made by the screenwriters to render the series more palatable to a modern international audience ignorant of the historical and cultural issues which the film and the book explore. They feel that the Leopard has been turned into Bridgerton set in Sicily.

I can see their point.

Fabrizio, Prince and father, remains central to the story. We watch as he struggles to decide how to respond to the changes taking place as Sicily is invaded by Garibaldi and his men. We empathise as he faces a choice between joining the new regime or remaining loyal to his past and falling into a passive, cynical life.

However the role of Concetta his daughter, a minor part in the book and film, has been made the central role in the Series. We follow her dilemma as she is torn between Tancredi, the bad boy she can’t help loving and good boy Bombello. At sumptuous ball after sumptuous ball the love triangle is played out in a series of lingering looks. The author would have had a fit.

On the other hand I have always been very suspicious of the high regard in which the film has been held internationally. Its exploration of domestic Italian issues of North versus South, Left versus Right are all but incomprehensible to non Italians. Most viewers would need a history lesson before watching the film in order to appreciate it.

In my opinion, in this sense, the Netflix series is an improvement on Visconti's film. The Netflix series does take the time to attempt to explain these issues, making them accessible to a broader international audience. I would be interested to know how many of you watching the Netflix series understood the politics at play.

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