The Leopard on Netflix, from tomorrow, brings us a captivating story of a decadent 19th century Sicilian aristocracy threatened by revolution and the approaching forces of democracy. Set during the Risorgimento, the consolidation of Italian states into a single state, it’s a pivotal moment in the creation of Italy.
Directed by Tom Shankland, Giuseppe Capotondi and Laura Luchetti, this new period drama is based on Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s classic novel, the author’s only novel which was published in 1958, a year after his death. Widely considered one of the best Italian novels of all time, it is a dazzling and sensuous epic recounting the turmoil in country life and society 160 years ago. This exciting new series promises to showcase the beauty of Sicily with local politics, drama and a richly nostalgic flavour.
The Leopard is the charismatic Prince of Salina, Don Fabrizio Corbera, who in 1860, is the head of an ancient noble lineage, his nicknames derived from his family crest. Fabrizio lives a a life of opulence and privilege, ruling over thousands of acres of land from his seat of decaying grandeur. However, when the Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi arrives on the island, spearheading ‘The Expedition of the Thousand’, Fabrizio faces a crucial choice as Italy moves towards unification: resist the tide of change or adapt to a shifting world. And yet, as Prince Fabrizio’s nephew wisely says in the original novel – and in this Netflix series too – “For things to remain the same, everything must change.”
When his family’s future is in jeopardy, each one a threat to his principles, and when faced with a heartbreaking choice, should Fabrizio engineer an allegiance that will secure his family’s future when in doing so, he will break his daughter’s heart?
Today, The Leopard remains strikingly relevant at a time when largescale political decisions are affecting all of our day-to-day lives. With power struggles, love affairs, death and drama, it offers a commentary on the cost of progress in individual lives and on the sweeping social and political change affecting a nation. And wrapped in universal truths and the familiar plight of a generation that finds itself caught between the old and the new, at The Leopard’s core is an intimate personal tale of the deep bond between a father and daughter.
With a script co-written by Richard Worlow and Benji Walters The Leopard was produced by Indiana Production and Moonage Pictures. Filmed in Palermo, Catania and Syracuse, it stars Kim Rossi Stuart, Saul Nanni, Deva Cassel and Benedetta Porcaroli.
