Nada

This is a magical show. With a guest star so left field and so right it'll stun you when you see him on the screen.

Well, now that I've given him such an intro it won't, but when this Argentinian series suddenly shifts locales...it's a complete surprise.

So what we've got here is the aged dandy Manuel, who earns his living as a restaurant/food critic. He's got kids, but has little interaction with them. He had a relationship with Grace, but he's too difficult to be with. It's just him and his housekeeper in his densely decorated home. He's afraid of dying, but almost has one foot in the grave.

"Nada" is slow until it isn't. There isn't a lot there until there isn't. But ultimately it is very satisfying. It's on Hulu and...

Don't put it at the top of your list, it's nothing like "The Bureau," or "Master of None"...I could name twenty series you should watch before "Nada," but if you've seen the heavyweights and are looking for something different...

It's set in Buenos Aires. And South America is foreign to the U.S. What I mean is most Americans know more about Europe than they do about the continent just south of them. And Americans always believe foreigners are living an inferior life, that no one outside their country's borders is sophisticated. But Buenos Aires is certainly sophisticated and cultured, and you get to see a bit of the city, but really this is a character study.

And a food study.

One of the highlights is when Manuel describes the three levels of consumption. I won't ruin it, but I will say that a meal can be an artistic experience. Now in truth, America has come a long way in the past twenty five years, you can get more than hot dogs and popcorn at the stadium, they're even selling daily passports to the Atlanta airport, so you can sample the food and shops, but this does not mean Americans have a sophisticated palate.

Manuel is all about splitting the hairs. And that resonated with me, because I'm the same way. I don't care if it made a lot of money, I don't care if everybody anoints it as great, I want to start from zero and make my own evaluation on an absolute scale.

I guess it's that excellence is so satisfying. Like when my car's just been serviced and it's running perfectly. As a matter of fact, my car is in the shop right now and they gave me a brand new Outback as a loaner. I'd never buy it. The center of gravity is too high and the suspension is too soft, why does everybody want an SUV? To sit higher in an inherently unstable machine? Fashion and industry profits have everybody buying an SUV/truck when they'd be better serviced with a sedan, but people can't go against trends, conventional wisdom. When the turbo in my ancient machine is turning, when all four wheels are pulling, when I'm accelerating or going around a corner, it's a thrill, it's a high.

Like the right pair of skis. As someone said, there's no such thing as a bad pair of skis these days. But the right ones? It's such a sweet experience.

And the same thing with food. When they nail it...

It's not about quantity. And it's not about complication. That's one of the points in this movie, a simple country soup can be exquisite. When it is made with love and experience and...

This is what life is really about. These tiny moments of elation. When Manuel eats something spectacular he's elated, if it's just a bit off, he's disappointed, no matter how good it is. He says he's only got so many meals left in his life, he doesn't want to waste one.

I understand that. Actually, right now I'm paralyzed. Because I don't want to waste time with the time I have left. I don't want to be blind and miss it. I want to eat up life. But there are so many things, so many people, who are unsatisfying, or not satisfying enough and...

I hear people rave about this act or that. But I've seen that act, the first time around, the comeback and then on the endless tour and really, they were great in the beginning and now they're running on fumes and nostalgia is overrated. I don't want to be calcified, talking about what once was. But everything important to me is denigrated by my cohorts. Technology? It's the enemy, right? Man, all the people I know who are afraid of AI who don't really understand it.

That's another thing, the misinformation. Got to blame technology, communication methods, for that. My inbox overflows with people citing incorrect facts. They could just google the truth, but then they'd be disillusioned, because they'd realize what they've been spewing is wrong, and their self-identity can't handle that.

So one ends up feeling alone, on their own adventure. At least I do. I find my connection in streaming TV. I'd like to find my connection in music more, but the purveyors are brands, not artists. They're fearful of complaints, they don't want to alienate anybody. They're more like Procter & Gamble than John Lennon.

And Manuel can't even get along with his friends.

Assuming you've got friends, who are alive and kicking. You learn to live and forget, but not Manuel, he's irascible and it's funny except he's the person paying the price.

You know people like this, who are convinced they're right, always. And when you inform them of possibilities, new items or methods of behavior or anything new they don't want to hear it, they're comfortable where they are. When did everybody become afraid of the future?

And on one hand Manuel knows what a pain in the ass he is, it's one reason he stays isolated. But his heart can be warmed.

And he does have status. Everybody knows who he is, he eats for free, but caught up in his quest for the mountaintop he doesn't realize he's pissing people off.

But the show is slow at the beginning. Not so slow it's akin to watching paint dry. But it's not intense, vivid, not that much happens. You just see Manuel living his life. But as the episodes unfold...

"Nada" is not a big commitment. It's five half hour episodes. But you won't watch it and forget it. You'll continue to think about it and talk to people about it, just like I am doing here.

I can't say I know of another series like "Nada." Maybe a couple of movies, but they're a different paradigm from series. And isn't that what we're looking for, the new and different? Wasn't that the story of Barbenheimer, killing the sequels?

But many are happy with what was, what they know. But the real stimulation is that which is riding the edge, off in the distance, that's what gets your brain going, cogitating, and feeling.

I don't want to overhype "Nada," it's just that it's a special show. I can't see them making it in the U.S. We need more. Beautiful people acting irrationally...wait, that's not only TV, that's real life! Today it's Britney Spears getting an abortion, yesterday it was Kanye and his new wife in Italy. These people live on publicity, their whole lives are based on being in the public eye. And not only do so many follow them, they want to be them. Sounds like an empty life to me. Kinda like Taylor Swift. She's setting all these attendance and gross records. Kudos, that's fine with me. But who would want to do the work? The same show, week after week, for years on end? I'd rather do something better with my time. It's one thing if you're trying to make it. Swift ends up in the public eye, she's certainly famous, she's America's darling, but what exactly is it like being her? I mean on the inside?

That's what's interesting, what makes people tick, their motivation... This used to be part of the musician ethos. People were 3-D. More of a scan, actually. It wasn't about the image, but the interior. Kind of like David Crosby... He went on the road spewing anti-Trump vitriol and said he didn't care if he lost fans over it, he didn't want those people at his shows. I don't care if you agree, and David was a difficult guy, but that's someone with an identity, a backbone, and he wasn't compromising for anyone. He wasn't dancing, he wasn't doing commercials, he wasn't toning down his speech or behavior. That's the life of an artist, more than chart positions and awards.

I guess you've learned more about me than "Nada" in this screed. But maybe that's the point, "Nada" is getting me to open up, to deliver my feelings and wants. You might have the same experience.

Trailer (only watch if you need convincing, because it reveals too much): https://tinyurl.com/4xp8srux


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