Django on Canal+: How much is this contemporary Western with Matthias Schoenaerts and nothing to do with a Tarantino film worth?

What is it about?

Far West, 1860-1870. Banished by the murder of his family eight years earlier, Django continues to search for his daughter, hoping that she may have escaped the massacre. He is surprised to find her in New Babylon, about to marry John. Convinced that the city is in danger, Django is adamant: he won’t risk losing his daughter again.

Django, a TV series created by Leonardo Fasoli, Maddalena Ravagli with Matthias Schoenaerts, Nicholas Pinnock, Lisa Vicar, Noomi Rapa… Episodes watched: 5 of 10

who is he with

For the co-production between Sky Italia and Canal+, filmed in English and intended for an international audience, Django’s Italian creators Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli have turned their attention to Belgian actor Mathias Schoenaerts (De rouille et d’ Bone). With his almost animalistic charisma and quiet strength, he lends himself naturally to the role, which willingly echoes Sergio Corbucci’s mythical Django.

For the role of her daughter Sarah, they chose the German actress Lisa Vikar, who played Martha in the TV series Dark. Fans of the series will also recognize Nicholas Pinnock from Top Boy, who here plays John Ellis, the founder of New Babylon, who is about to marry Sarah.

Finally, this fine cast is rounded out by the presence of Noomi Rapace, who plays the tough Elizabeth. He is the sworn enemy of John Ellis and New Babylon. A kind of Ma Dalton, in a modern and more charming version, he also plays trigger like Django and persistently thwarts all the projects of his opponents.

Is it worth checking out?

A true series of Westerns, Django still fits the times and offers a reinterpretation of the genre. A re-reading suggests more that the Django of the title refers to Corbucci’s Django, who became an almost mythological figure in the Western. However, it should be noted that the series has no connection with Tarantino’s Django Unchained.

Here Matthias Schoenaerts portrays a man haunted by his past and his mistakes. He is a silent colossus with a tender heart. After nearly abandoning his family who was murdered, he is on a road to redemption to find and reconnect with his daughter Sarah. When he arrives in New Babylon, he encounters a young woman who is nothing short of fierce.

She is the fiancee of John Ellis, the leader of this community that lives beyond convention, where men and women, white and colored, live together in perfect harmony seven years after the end of the Civil War. He is the leader of this community, he is listened to and respected. And she no longer wants to hear about this father who abandoned her.

soft heart

A straight-in-the-bootstraps, brash cowboy who’s skilled with the trigger and who never shies away from a fight, Django is still a tender father figure. A patient man willing to redeem himself and adopt the one who now speaks to him with authority.

It is indeed this complex relationship that lies at the heart of the story, which does not lack for panache and decoration. The city of New Babylon, made of huts, odds and ends, looks like a utopia even in its architecture. Elizabeth and John Ellis’ antagonism has its roots in an unexpected and interesting past. And Django’s past, when he was still living with his wife and children, also contains surprises.

The series company is one of those that is not masked to progress. In this modern Western, Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli (who have proven themselves in the past in series like Gomorrah or ZeroZeroZero) want to deconstruct the figure of the cowboy to offer something that is just as virile, but more complex and more human.

It is enough to look at the contrast between Mathias Schoenaerts’ physique and impressive presence and the sweetness (and sometimes pain) he expresses in the presence of his daughter. In our accounts of the past, these two characteristics struggle to co-exist in one body. But here everything is fluid and clear.

On the other hand, we’re going through a great line of screenwriters who, on the other hand, are struggling a bit more to update the genre. It’s really the Django of the title that deserves our attention here.