Ficarra and Picone return to Netflix on December 5th with “Sicilia Express”, a romantic Christmas comedy that confirms the strength of their gentle irony. After the success of the “Incastrati” series, the Sicilian duo offers the public a new story that talks about North vs South, a true political satire which, despite choosing a simple narrative structure and with some clichés, manages to entertain and deal with important themes with lightness and intelligence.

But let’s start with the plot.

Sicilia Express: what it’s about

The series, made up of five episodes of approximately twenty minutes, follows the events of two Sicilian nurses who work in Milan but have families in Sicily. An unexpected event will lead them to discover a magical portal capable of connecting North and South, transforming their daily lives and the lives of the people around them.

“Sicilia Express” is a modern fairy tale that ranges between realism and fantasy and which manages to make us reflect on cultural distances, prejudices, the problems of southern politics and even the difficulties of Italian transport.

A political satire that knows how to exploit lightness

If compared to “Incastrati” the construction of the plot and the development of the characters are less solid, “Sicilia Express” maintains an undeniable strong point: simple – and therefore universal – communication combined with the ability to satire but with lightness, kindness and, if we want, education.

The romantic irony of the Sicilian duo, in fact, still works, as does their incredible complicity on screen and the excellent balance with the other members of the cast among which names like Katia Follesa stand out who adds an undeniable comic energy to the story together with Max Tortora, Giorgio Tirabassi and Jerry Calà.

Ficarra and Picone remain faithful to their identity, to their cultural roots and to that slightly old-fashioned but never vulgar or annoying comedy, a characteristic that has made them among the most loved faces of the Italian comedy scene. Their declared choice is clarity: to be understandable, direct and funny but without sacrificing depth. And this strategy, once again, pays off.

“Sicilia Express” is not a revolutionary series but it is a very pleasant vision: light, smooth, suitable for the whole family and surprisingly deeper than it seems.

The ideal title to watch while waiting for Christmas and in which many Southern Italians living in the North will be able to recognize themselves.

Rating: 6.4