Brigands: The Quest For Gold (Briganti) is an Italian period drama series released on Netflix on April 23, 2024. It is produced by Fabula Pictures in association with Los Hermanos and created by GRAMS. Marco De Angelis serves as a producer for the 6-part series with a runtime of about 40-58 minutes.
Briganti is set during the 19th century, amidst the lawless lands of southern Italy, where we follow Filomena, who flees her privileged yet sorrowful existence to embark on a dangerous quest for hidden riches aka find the hidden gold.
The cast of the series includes Michela De Rossi as Filomena, Ivana Lotito as Ciccilla, Matilda Lutz as Michelina, Orlando Cinque as Pietro Monaco, Marlon Joubert as Giuseppe Schiavone, Giuseppe Lo Piccolo as Salvatore, Pietro Micci as Fumel, Ernesto D’Argenio as Cosimo Giordano, Nando Paone as Ventre, Federico Ielapi as Jurillo, Josafat Vagni as Manzo, Gianmarco Vettori as Marchetta, Alida Baldari Calabria as Lissandra and several others.
Brigands: The Quest For Gold Review
Brigands: The Quest For Gold episode 1 opens with a quick history lesson on how Giuseppe Garibaldi, an Italian general and revolutionary contributed to the Italian unification. Taking it further on a fictional spin, the show portrays that some of the Garibaldini (allies/followers) aka the red shirts were not completely in favour of his ideology and they took gold from the Southern bank on the pretence of war loan. However, their real intention was to keep it to themselves, thus, hiding it at a secret location. But they were long dead before they could tell their other partners about the hidden place, becoming a legend of the lost gold.
Now that two years have passed, the citizens are suffering under the state’s rule and many brigands have uprisen in rebellion of it. There’s one infamous man ‘Sparrowhawk’, a bounty hunter looking for a particular map which is in the possession of a rich lord named Don Clemente. In his home, we meet our lead – Filomena. A mere but beautiful peasant, married to the lord to secretly help her people dying of poverty. But when he catches her helping, the cruel consequences urge her to take revenge against him and runs away with the map that could lead anyone to the hidden gold.
Chased by everyone, a group of ruthless brigands catches Filomena but she finds a way to survive and slowly rises to become a strategic leader. She soon encounters other women like her, persuading them to join in reclaiming the gold of the South and bringing hope back to the peasants. The disparate bands of brigands had no choice but to unite against their common enemy, both the State and rival brigands.
In a brutal struggle where humanity was often sacrificed, they fought for survival in dense forests, vast glades, and desolate landscapes that became integral to their identity. Living on the fringes of society, they embraced their wild, primal instincts, evolving into a band of outlaws akin to Robin Hood or Pirates, seizing wealth and power to challenge the oppressive State. In this violent underworld, their only path to survival was through ruthless criminality.
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While we are essentially following Filomena’s journey to accept herself, her strengths and her flaws, the story however feels to be steering away many times. Confusing us with who the real deal is. Also, her character is described as ‘the cursed one’ by other characters, as everything she does leads to lethal repercussions. It is alright to watch initially, expecting her development over the course of the 6 episodes. Sadly, she doesn’t learn anything and is made to make the same stupid mistakes again, which is quite frustrating to watch. It would have been great to see Filomena use her big brain smartly for once, at least in the end but to no avail.
This is all the more disappointing because in Brigands: The Quest For Gold, the female characters are shown as strong leaders, taking charge everywhere. But they are always blinded by their own pride or manipulated by their male counterparts. Even if they are in a position of authority, their strings lie in other people’s hands, which is a big letdown. Along with the lack of character development, there’s a lot of confusion in the story. Especially the character of Sparrowhawk remains a mystery throughout. There are hints about his past but no clear indication about his life & personality.
Similarly, they hint at many things but it’s difficult to completely understand them. For example, there’s a prophecy of a woman saviour who will save the poor and their country. Is it Filomena or the other female leads, we never really know. It’s possible that details got lost in translation but mainly looks like bad storytelling. Although there are only 6 episodes, the pacing is too slow. The story gets sidetracked so many times, we forget that the main plot is to get the gold. And after going around in circles, there’s no thrill left even when the gold is found.
Overall, Brigands: The Quest For Gold is a mediocre show despite the subject matter that’s usually exciting to watch. The creators have tried to combine so many plot lines – peasant’s struggle against the state, conflict between various brigands, brigand’s rebellion against the state, numerous characters’ personal journeys and struggles, finding the hidden gold etc that the story isn’t focused anymore. Running on so many tangents, one isn’t sure what to expect and the anticipated ‘rise of a hero/heroine’ goes down the river. The cinematography and the scenic landscapes were probably the one positive point and even the performances by the actors were decent, but not enough to pull the failing story from its lost cave.
Rating: 2.5/5
Brigands: The Quest For Gold is available to watch on Netflix.
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