After the grand success of Money Heist, Netflix has delivered another great drama Lupin. Lupin is the French mystery comedy series that was created by George Kay and François Uzan and was premiered on Netflix on 8 January 2021. The series follows a man named Assane Diop played by Omar Sy who is inspired by the adventures of Arsène Lupin.
To those who are not familiar with Arsène Lupin, He is a fictional gentleman thief and also a master of disguise that was created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc. It is one of the most popular pieces of literature and has been featured in 17 novels and 39 novellas. In the series, the main character is heavily inspired by the character and follows the path of Arsene Lupin.
The one thing I liked the most about the series is it doesn’t take time to advance its storyline. We got to see the action in the first episode itself. Lupin establishes itself as a heist series that is attached to the personal story of the main character. In that sense, it is not just a typical heist series, it is also a revenge drama. In a typical heist story, you show the main character planning a heist and assembling the team that can get the job done. And only at the final moment, we get to see the actual heist. But this series doesn’t take that route, here the story is not just about the heist. In fact, we actually get to see the heist in the first episode. The story begins after the heist at the Louvre. We are on the same journey as Assane. We get to know his backstory, his father’s story, and how he got to inspire by Lupin.
The show also has a social commentary on racism in a subtle way. In one scene, when Assane buys the necklace in the bid and there was a line saying how they didn’t expect him to buy such an expensive necklace and the main character calls out to him. There is such a subtle moment available in the series that hints at social injustice.
One another great aspect of the series is its cinematography. The series was able to capture the different aspects of the city. There is also a shot of Assane escaping over the rooftops of Paris which is amazing.
There is some aspect in the series where the makers of the show want you to take a leap of faith and believe the absurd context of the scene. There is one scene where Assane needs to be in jail to retrieve the information from his father’s cellmate. So he planned to switch with another inmate. The makers clearly don’t want you to use any logic in the scene and want to completely believe in it. There are many such scenes where the show takes artistic leverage to tell the story. If you are one of those people who want an explanation for each and every scene in the series then this might bother you.
Netflix has released only the first part of season 1 that includes the 5 episodes of the show and has ended in a cliffhanger. So people are eagerly waiting to see what will happen next. Netflix has not released the date for part 2 yet. Lupin has already become the first french series that was able to enter the top ten list in the united state. so there is a defiantly high demand for next. We will all be waiting to see what will happen in the next part eagerly.
