HBO Europe's telenovela 30 Coins, moonlights as a supernatural psychological thriller and it's distastefully delicious.
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| photo credit: HBO |
From the beginning of 30Coins/30Monedas, the ridiculously elaborate opening theme of the show proved to be such a spoiler that I could already tell that whatever intrigue this series had to offer would be tied to the 30 pieces of Silver the infamous Judas Iscariot was paid for betraying the Judeo-Christian Jesus Christ. I was not wrong. for, by the end of the first episode, It had already been revealed. Although, the way it was woven into the story seemed a bit intriguing, as it's involving a group of red robe wearing underground priests planning to overthrown the Vatican and canonize Judas as a saint for reasons you’d get to discover yourself (trust me, it’s good) should you choose to still see this series after reading.
This had me wanting to follow through to see how it would play out. But then to call the whole process tedious would be an understatement as you’d have to actually see it yourself to believe it.
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| photo credit: HBO |
Opening with a violent bank robbery scene, a frail old man is shot multiple times on the chest at close range but refuses to die until he retrieves the stolen item, a coin, to a strange looking man in a limousine. The series takes us from there to a small secluded village where the birth of a human child by a cow in a nearby farm, occurs shortly after the arrival of their new priest. In this first episode alone, we’re bombarded with further weird occurrences such as, the possession of an old lady, multiple murders, a giant baby and we’re barely even halfway through the entire series which lasts 7 episodes that by episode six, our main protagonist, Father Vergara, is shown hiding away in the war torn Aleppo in Syria, where he’s supposed to be laying low yet, he's still performing as a Priest. Yes, you read that right.
The downright absolutely crazy part of the show, is how so frustratingly bad it’s good.
This also affects the plotting, which is quite similar to the more superior 2006 film adaptation of Dan Brown's "DaVinci's code", down to the characters in the show.
For instance, Elena played by Megan Montaner, is a Vet who moonlights as a self appointed investigator after being exposed to all of the madness going on in this small town. She is highly histrionic and can be described as one of the most annoying tv characters in recent times. Some of her actions are quite bizarre, to the point where I found myself furiously nodding in agreement in a scene where she tells Paco in a scene that everyone thinks she’s crazy.
Her budding relationship with the Mayor of the town, Paco played by Miguel Angel Silvestré of "Sense8",regardless of their impressive onscreen chemistry, is quite awkward and the rising sexual tension between both characters never feels organic at all, only seeming to be a plot point to explain away the character transformation of Paco’s wife and her embracing the dark side towards the end of the series. Paco himself graduates to become quite the lackluster and uninspiring character as the series progresses.
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| Photo credit: HBO |
The Priest whom I consider the best thing in the entire series, isn’t left out as well. He’s a cliché of walking paradoxes; a chain-smoking, former heavyweight boxer, who still indulges in the sport from time to time, is burdened by a very personal secret involving the exorcism of a young boy in his past. He often lies compulsively and owns a collection of machine guns which he hides in a secret passage way in the altar of his parish. His entire demeanor and carriage coupled with the existentialist dialogue his character often posits, adds to the excitement in the show.
The violence in this show although sparse, is highly gratuitous and sloppy. The sex scenes are nicely filmed and quite graphic. The CGI is barely decent and unoriginal, as the spider baby monster is strongly reminiscent of John Carpenter's 1981, "The Thing" and the final monster in the season finale looks like something out of a PSII horror adventure game. Although, the final scenes of this psychological thriller suggests that there's room for a second season, I wouldn't bother expecting much because series creators, Álex de la Iglesia and Jorge Guerricaechevarría managed to somehow end this season 'perfectly'.
If you absolutely adore Spanish telenovelas and do not mind a bit of gore, nudity and action, then you should enjoy this but keep it in mind that this isn't kids friendly.
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