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Zen

  • TV Mini Series
  • 2011
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
3.9K
YOUR RATING
Zen (2011)
Trailer for Zen: Vendetta / Cabal / Ratking
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Play trailer1:51
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2 Videos
7 Photos
CrimeDramaMystery

Detective Aurelio Zen brings justice to modern-day Italy.Detective Aurelio Zen brings justice to modern-day Italy.Detective Aurelio Zen brings justice to modern-day Italy.

  • Stars
    • Rufus Sewell
    • Caterina Murino
    • Stanley Townsend
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.7/10
    3.9K
    YOUR RATING
    • Stars
      • Rufus Sewell
      • Caterina Murino
      • Stanley Townsend
    • 42User reviews
    • 5Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 2 nominations total

    Episodes3

    Top-rated
    Sun, Jul 31, 2011
    • S1.E3
    • Ratking
    With Moscati invalided out, Zen gets a new boss: icy, unsmiling Heuber, who regards Zen as a maverick and tells him so. Thus he is not pleased when Colonna again asks for Zen's intervention in rescuing kidnap victim Ruggiero Miletti, a wealthy philanthropist who has donated to Colonna's party funds. Miletti's lawyer, Piretta, was murdered whilst delivering the ransom, and his glamorous young widow blames Miletti's family, claiming they wanted their father dead. Zen finds Miletti's petulant son Silvio at odds with his amorous sister Cinzia and her well-organized husband Carlo, whilst Zen's colleague Vincenzo, choked that Heuber got the job he wanted, feels they should bungle the case to discredit their boss. Against Moscati's advice, Zen agrees to deliver a second ransom given him by Colonna, but Miletti is found dead. Zen is suspended but, after contacting the genuine kidnappers, discovers that Miletti's actual killer is far closer to home, leading to Heuber's dismissal and Zen's promotion.
    7.9/10
    Top-rated
    Sun, Jul 17, 2011
    • S1.E1
    • Vendetta
    Zen is sent to a remote village to re-investigate a murder, which may spark a political scandal.
    7.6/10
    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated1 season2011

    Videos2

    Zen: Vendetta / Cabal / Ratking
    Trailer 1:51
    Zen: Vendetta / Cabal / Ratking
    1
    Zen
    Trailer 1:51
    Zen
    Zen
    Trailer 1:51
    Zen

    Photos6

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    Top cast52

    Edit
    Rufus Sewell
    Rufus Sewell
    • Aurelio Zen
    • 2011
    Caterina Murino
    Caterina Murino
    • Tania Moretti
    • 2011
    Stanley Townsend
    Stanley Townsend
    • Moscati
    • 2011
    Nathalie Rapti Gomez
    Nathalie Rapti Gomez
    • Maria
    • 2011
    Ben Miles
    Ben Miles
    • Amedeo Colonna
    • 2011
    Catherine Spaak
    Catherine Spaak
    • Donata…
    • 2011
    Vincent Riotta
    Vincent Riotta
    • Giorgio de Angelis
    • 2011
    Sargon Yelda
    Sargon Yelda
    • Romizi
    • 2011
    Francesco Quinn
    Francesco Quinn
    • Gilberto Nieddu
    • 2011
    Ed Stoppard
    Ed Stoppard
    • Vincenzo Fabri
    • 2011
    Anthony Higgins
    Anthony Higgins
    • Guerchini…
    • 2011
    Garry Cooper
    Garry Cooper
    • Angelo
    • 2011
    Daniele Monterosi
    Daniele Monterosi
    • Branco
    • 2011
    Valentina Cervi
    Valentina Cervi
    • Arianna von Falkenhayn
    • 2011
    Cosima Shaw
    Cosima Shaw
    • Nadia Pirlo
    • 2011
    Adrian Schiller
    Adrian Schiller
    • Giuseppe Bini
    • 2011
    Massimiliano Ubaldi
    • Tomassini
    • 2011
    Peter Guinness
    Peter Guinness
    • Tito Spadola
    • 2011
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews42

    7.73.8K
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    Featured reviews

    9mark-newman-1

    Terrific smooth drama...

    The idea of taking a team of British actors and placing them in a crime fighting scenario in another European country can have mixed results. It worked with Maigret and it didn't work with Wallander.

    It DOES work with Zen. Whether or not it adheres to Michael Dibdin's novels I don't know because I haven't read them.

    Visually this series is a treat. The men are impeccably dressed and all look like James Bond! The stories themselves aren't going to win any awards but the journey is nonetheless an enjoyable and satisfactory one.

    If you're worn down by the usual shaky-cam stupidity of most modern trashy UK drama featuring the hyper-melodramatic plot lines and scripts with the usual, overly used actors and you need a reassuringly glossy and understated look into a world of low key drama then Zen is for you.

    Not masterfully intelligent but neither is it insultingly cringe-worthy.

    ZEN is a thoroughly enjoyable drama and a refreshing change of pace.
    8lucas739

    Bergerac with style?

    I think everything has already been said in the above reviews about this series of three 90 minute episodes.

    Its a stylish, beautifully shot,well acted,classy piece of entertainment, with fairly decent story lines with Rome as the backdrop.

    Though i haven't watched the third instalment i felt the second 'Cabal' was a definite improvement on the first 'Vendetta' which i thought was slightly preposterous

    No, it won't appeal to everyone, think of it as Bergerac with style, it has an upbeat Midsommer Murders pace to it.Like someone has said, it bucks the current trend of hard nosed police dramas, and it works, give it a try. You might just be pleasantly surprised like i was.

    Some might condemn this as escapist TV but what's wrong with that? we all need to get away sometimes so why not summer in Rome, i can't think of a nicer place.
    8highestH

    Rufus Sewell's Zen worth another round of episodes...

    Underrated leading man Rufus Sewell gets his best role in years as Italian police detective Aurelio Zen in this summer's Masterpiece Mystery series: ZEN - now in rotation in the U.S. [ >>>>>See note on how to save this series at end of review<<<<< ]

    Going against the grain of playing to younger audiences - and beautifully produced on location in Italy - this is a series for adults, lovingly crafted by a spot-on cast and shot with verve by cinematographer Tony Miller (INFINITE JUSTICE). Calling it a "detective series" seems to miss he point entirely, for it is really about watching Sewell establish an ultra-cool, post-modern anti-hero with the quiet confidence of a Raymond Chandler gumshoe and the personal flair of a '70s Alain Delon film noir protagonist.

    Playing off an accomplished Italian/English cast ( see the office love interest embodied by the mesmerizing Caterina Murino), Sewell is a study in understated reserve that can turn testy when high-placed superiors want favors and cover-ups that are just not in Zen's wheelhouse. One of the fascinating things about Aurelio Zen is he must deal with a reputation for honesty that most of his cynical peers assume is just a pose, hiding a more crooked set of values closer to their own. It is too Sewell's great credit that he plays with this, sometimes showing Zen's more devious side, but then steering back to safer shores of a muted integrity that stays pretty dinged-up from episode to episode.

    While there are satisfying moments of action and rather robust plot twists, still it is the face and expressions of Rufus Sewell that lock down this fresh, interesting series; his staying alive goes way beyond being able to think on his feet - for Zen must continuously side-step the dark expectations of his suspects and superiors, walking a tightrope between the half-truths and dangerous lies that make up his professional world.

    In a TV universe of ever-falling standards, we should support this rare, intelligent portrait of a complex man trying to outsmart a world that grows more ruthless everyday. Those wishing to sound-off to the PBS execs that can perhaps reverse the BBC's initial decision to not buy more episodes can try contacting the American Executive Producer of PBS MYSTERY based at Boston's WGBH - Ms. Rebecca Eaton. In the past, she has been instrumental in saving several series that were not immediately picked up for a second season.-Brian H. Shaw b l o g "F.I.L.M.interpretation" at opera.com
    7Leofwine_draca

    The BBC get it right for once

    And then they go and axe it. Typical.

    ZEN was a three-part miniseries adaptation of of the literary detective Aurelio Zen. The BBC took the decision to shoot in English and not bother with dodgy accents, which works well.

    I found all three episodes to be smart, stylish and above average thrillers. Each episode contains danger, intrigue, political machinations, romance and humour. Rufus Sewell is perfectly cast and plays Zen to the hilt, and he's supported by an excellent list of actors headed by the lovely Caterina Munro.

    Add in some classy music and beautiful locations and you have a winning series. Of the three episodes, the first, VENDETTA, is the strongest, featuring a murderous assassin; the second, CABAL, gets tied up in government conspiracies and shady suited figures; the third and weakest, RANSOM, features Zen thrown into the middle of a kidnapping where nothing is what it seems.

    It's a shame we'll never find out who was at the other end of the phone but nonetheless, ZEN made for great viewing.
    9catalyst8-1

    Italian panache made with English subtlety.

    There's always a risk when adapting the written word to a screenplay; the risk that the nuances of the one will be lost when rendered to the other. Fortunately the BBC has a fine pedigree when transferring both book & play to the screen (from 'The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy' to Charles Dickens, & any number of Shakespeare's plays), as well as when working in collaboration with international broadcasters (who could forget the excellent 'Rome'?).

    Their vast experience in this field has really paid off with 'Zen', a detective series based on the novels of English crime writer Michael Dibdin. Although there are some differences between the novels & the television series, they are minor & serve to facilitate the adaptation from the written to the visual. The television characters are perhaps slightly softer than their written counterparts, a necessity of economy when one considers that each episode is only ninety minutes long. Despite that the characters are well-rounded, with Rufus Sewell doing more than enough to cement his place in what is bound to be remembered as a modern classic of television.

    In addition to Sewell's excellent suitability for the role, he is surrounded by an equally impressive international cast. The direction, lighting & shot composition all contribute to producing a superb whole, & it would be remiss not to mention the wardrobe, who do a fine job of catching that Italian verve.

    In essence 'Zen' is a hugely enjoyable series of tasteful whodunnits, which never reveal who really did do it until the end. At the time of writing, the real mystery is whether all eleven of Dibdin's novels will be televised - it would be a crime if they weren't.

    Altogether a stylish series with a sophistication brought about by understated subtlety.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Most of the cars used in the series are from Alfa Romeo.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Wright Stuff: Episode #15.5 (2011)

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    FAQ

    • How many seasons does Zen have?
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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 17, 2011 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • Italy
      • Germany
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Aurelio Zen
    • Filming locations
      • Rome, Lazio, Italy
    • Production companies
      • Left Bank Pictures
      • R.T.I.
      • Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 30 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 16:9 HD

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