CAPITANI is a new Netflix series in the crime and thriller genres. It’s from Luxembourg but reminded me of the Belgian The Break. The episodes are just under 30 minutes, so it’s perfect for bitesize entertainment. Read our Capitani season 1 review here!

CAPITANI is a new Netflix series from Luxembourg and the genres are crime and thriller with a murder mystery at the heart of the plot. When the story begins, a body is found in the woods of a small town. The body turns out to be of a 15-year-old local girl and her twin sister is also missing.

The episodes are all under 30 minutes and the season has 12 episodes. In other words, you can watch the entire season in just over five hours. However, be warned, most episodes end with a cliffhanger or some new clue, so you’ll probably want to keep watching.

Continue reading our Capitani season 1 review below and find all the episodes on Netflix now.

A familiar concept – in a good way!

The Capitani series from Luxembourg reminded me of the Belgian The Break rather quickly. And no, not just because both series feature various Benelux languages spoken in one big jumble. Though obviously, this does create an obvious comparison.

Even more so, however, it’s because the crime plot takes place in a small town. You know, the kind where everybody knows the business of everybody else. So full of gossip and set in their own small-town ways. Also, supposedly, there are no secrets and yet everyone has their own secret.

Recommended reading: Our season 1 review of the Belgian Netflix thriller series The Break right here >

Still, I have to mention that I definitely preferred the main character of The Break compared to the title character in Capitani. Sure, in The Break he might have been irritating in many ways and he used and abused both painkillers and other people.

However, the Capitani character is just plain boring at first. Being a troubled person is always better than one-dimensional. After all, it seems fair enough to expect a character to be interesting when the series is named after him. It does get better along the way, but the beginning is rather weak for him.

Fortunately, the other characters are much more interesting from the get-go!

Capitani: Season 1 – Netflix Review

Watch Capitani season 1 on Netflix now!

The episodes of Capitani was written by Thierry Faber, Eric Lamhene, and Christophe Wagner. The latter also directed the episodes of this series. Previously, all three of them also worked on the comedy series Comeback. Also, they all have many productions on the IMDb resumes, but none that I am familiar with. 

The title role of Luc Capitani is played by Luc Schiltz who I can’t recall having seen before either. As I’ve already stated, this character didn’t really blow me away, but I can’t blame the actor for that. Many other characters do make much more of an impression, so it’s not like the series isn’t interesting. 

Especially the young police officer Elsa Ley makes an impression fast. She quickly shows promise and becomes the local assistant for Capitani, to help solve the case. Elsa Ley is portrayed by Sophie Mousel, who already has a few genre productions under her belt. Including the 2019 movie Skin Walker starring Udo Kier, which also had Luc Schiltz in the cast.

Capitani is a very classic crime-thriller and the short episodes make for perfect bitesize entertainment. Bottom line: Give it a shot if you like European-style crime plots!

All 12 episodes in season 1 of Capitani are out on Netflix from February 11, 2021.

Details

Showrunner: Thierry Faber
Director: Christophe Wagner
Screenwriters: Thierry Faber, Eric Lamhene, Christophe Wagner
Cast: Luc Schiltz, Sophie Mousel, Claude De Demo, Joe Dennenwald, Konstantin Rommelfangen, Jules Werner, Jil Devresse, Julie Kieffer, Brigitte Urhausen, Timo Wagner, Max Gindorff, Pierre Bodry, Luc Feit, Nicole Max, Esther Gaspart Michels, Roland Gelhausen, Désirée Nosbusch, Jemp Schuster, Jean-Paul Maes, Raoul Schlechter, Al Ginter, Renelde Pierlot, Michel Tereba, Petur Oskar Sigurdsson, Marc Limpach, Anne Klein, Raoul Albonetti, Gabriel Boisante, Monique Reuter, Matteo Wolf, Éric Gigout, Loïc Pavant, Nassim Rachi, Stefan Weinert, Olivier Delvaux

Plot

The body of a teenage girl is found in the forest near the rural village of Manscheid, deep in the North of Luxembourg. Luc Capitani, a gruff detective from the South of the country, is put in charge of the case. Having trouble navigating the closed, communal and protective mentality of the northerners, Capitani finds himself unwillingly dependent on the help of Elsa Ley, a young and intrepid local policewoman. The officers quickly find themselves entangled in a web of secrets and lies.

I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!
Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard
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