Invisible City – Netflix Series Review

INVISIBLE CITY is a new Netflix series from Brazil (org. title Cidade Invisível). We’re in the crime, drama, and fantasy genres. The series has a fascinating plot and a visual style that is Academy Award-worthy. And yes, there’s a reason why. Read our full Invisible City series review here!

INVISIBLE CITY is a new Netflix fantasy series from Brazil with the original title of Cidade Invisível. Other than this being a fantasy series, there’s also plenty of crime and drama. Mostly because people die and also, we see some rather brutal things play out.

The visual style alone should be enough to get you hooked. It is Academy Award-worthy which won’t come as a big surprise when you realize who the creator of this new Netflix series is. Still, one thing is a good creator, another thing is having a crew that can make it work. And boy, does it work. You’ll see. Avatar fans should definitely enjoy the quality of this work.

Continue reading our Invisible City series review below. We’ve watched the first four episodes for this review.

Brazilian legends come alive

The plot of Invisible City could be explained as simple as pondering this question: “What if all the Brazilian legends were true?”

As the story progresses – which does happen fairly quickly – you’ll hear various Brazilian legends and quickly realize that they are actually true in the world of Invisible City. That might sound a bit “lame” or like something for kids. And yes, certain elements might be. But then there are the deaths that are definitely not kid-friendly.

Also, if you want to watch a series that knows how to keep you watching, then this is it. Most episodes tend to end on a cliffhanger or with new information that you just have to keep watching to know more about. It’s done in quite elegant ways though, so it’s not like you should feel fooled into watching episode after episode. You’ll just want to!

Watch the Invisible City series on Netflix

The creator of Invisible City is Carlos Saldanha and while his name might not be a household name, his previous movies definitely are. He debuted as a director (or rather, as co-director) in 2002 with the animated movie Ice Age. Since then, he continued working on additional Ice Age movies as well as going on to direct Rio (2011) and Ferdinand (2017).

Obviously, directing an animated movie is very different from working on a live-action fantasy series. However, when you watch the amazing effects in Invisible City, I’m guessing you’ll see how closely the two can be connected. Also, Carlos Saldanha isn’t directing on this series. That job is done by Luis Carone and Júlia Pacheco Jordão (Netflix series Omniscient).

While Carlos Saldanha is the creator in terms of securing the production of this, the series is actually based on a story co-developed by the screenwriters and best-seller authors Raphael Draccon and Carolina Munhóz. The duo also worked on the Netflix series The Chosen One which deals with some of the same issues.

If you liked that one, then be sure to check out this one!

Season 1 of Invisible City is out on Netflix worldwide from February 5, 2021.

Details

Creator: Carlos Saldanha
Directors: Júlia Pacheco Jordão, Luis Carone
Writers: Antonio Arruda, Rodrigo Batista, Marco Borges
Stars: Marco Pigossi, Alessandra Negrini, Jéssica Córes, Julia Konrad, Tainá Medina, Victor Sparapane