What to watch this week (if you haven’t already)

I am always on the look-out for new films or TV. series to watch. Once a week, I’ll post my favourite/ two favourite film/s or TV series I’ve seen in the last seven days.

Feel free to comment about your own favourite/s from the part week and/ or post links to reviews (if you’ve written them). 🙂

The format will differ to that of the book reviews: there will probably be links to scenes and I’ll only write three small sections that pick up on:
1) How I came to know of its existence
2) One part of the set-up that blew my socks off
3) Plot (no spoilers if I can help it)
4) Why watch it?

Here is my favourite from the last seven days:

La Mappa Misteriosa

 How I heard about it…
through luck! : I’m trying to learn enough Italian to set me up for a four-day holiday inVenice next month. I found this series and associated revision exercises on the BBC Language Learning Page.

 One thing I loved…
the style:
This takes the ‘language learning TV series’ experience to a whole new level. Whilst nothing can replace immersion techniques (unless one is particularly gifted in learning alone) this series sucks the viewer through the screen and drops them into a rather fun adventure as one of the main protagonists.

 The plot
You stumble upon a long-lost treasure map which leads you to Bolognawhere you embark on an exciting adventure which leads you around the region. With Renata, daughter of the map’s creator and her nephew, you find yourself in a race against the clock to find the lost recipe for la torta di Serretto before it falls into the wrong hands.

 Why watch it?
The language isn’t too hard for a beginner and actually provides an ego-boost as it’s fairly easy to understand from the start. The plot isn’t very complex but it does the trick as I’ve now learnt enough from the series to get me by for most of the holiday. I can’t read Petrach’s sonnets in the original, nor can I keep pace with Eco’s prose but I can express basic ideas, get from place A to place B, buy food and check into my hostel.