Spanish fiction adds a new thriller with Ciudad de sombras, the series that Netflix premiered this December 12 and that soon began to attract attention for its dark climate and setting.
Set in a less recognizable and rougher Barcelona, the production also has an unavoidable emotional component: it was Verónica Echegui’s last work before her death last August, a fact that gives the series a different and more intimate reading.
Based on the novel El verdugo de Gaudí, by Aro Sáinz de la Maza, the story uses modernist architecture as a backdrop for a criminal tale where the beauty of the city coexists with episodes of great cruelty.
A crime that shakes Barcelona and brings an estranged inspector back on the scene
The plot gets underway with a scene as disturbing as it is symbolic: the discovery of a body in one of the buildings linked to Gaudí’s work. The case forces the reinstatement of Milo Malart, an inspector who had been out of the service for some time after a disciplinary case. Isak Férriz plays a tired character, with a past that weighs heavily and a way of facing work marked by guilt and personal wear and tear.
In his return to the investigation appears Rebeca Garrido, a methodical and analytical agent who soon becomes his main support (and also his contrast) within the team. The relationship between the two articulates much of the story and sustains the progress of the investigation.
Verónica Echegui’s character gains weight in TV adaptation
One of the most visible changes with respect to the original novel is in the development of Rebeca Garrido. In the book, her role was more discreet; in the series, on the other hand, the character acquires a greater dimension and is placed at the center of the conflict.
Verónica Echegui brings to Garrido a mixture of containment and strength that is revealed as the episodes go by. Her character is not limited to accompanying the investigation, but shows a journey of her own, with doubts, wounds and personal conflicts that dialogue with those of Malart.
The death of the actress after the end of filming adds an unavoidable emotional charge. Without underlining or artifice, her presence on screen acquires a special value and turns her performance into a silent farewell.
A recognizable Barcelona, but far from the postcard
Barcelona does not function here as a simple set, since the series bets on a real city, with contrasts and far from the usual tourist imaginary. The choice of real locations (more than 70) and the natural use of Catalan and Spanish reaffirm this sense of authenticity.
Jorge Torregrossa’s direction avoids idealizing the city and shows it as a living, complex and sometimes uncomfortable space that accompanies the tone of the story without imposing itself on it.
Gaudí’s work as a thread of mystery
Modernist architecture is not only an aesthetic resource, since each episode takes as a reference a work of Gaudí, integrating it into the narrative as part of the enigma itself. Spaces such as the Sagrada Familia, Park Güell or Casa Batlló appear linked to the development of the investigation and loaded with meaning within the plot.
The series thus proposes a different reading of these places, associating them not only with beauty, but also with the shadows and conflicts that cross the city.
A thriller that relies on the characters and the climate.
Ciudad de sombras is a production that does not limit itself to solving a police case. Through its leisurely pace and restrained tone, the series dwells on its characters and the traces left by the past, both at a personal and urban level.
In that balance between intrigue, drama and social gaze, the production finds its identity and installs itself as a solid proposal within Netflix’s Spanish catalog, inevitably marked by Verónica Echegui’s latest performance.
