Kostas Charitos is the head of the Homicide Section of the Police of the Greek capital and is a rough, direct, outspoken man, but also a little ironic. Stefano Fresi plays the literary character born from the pen of the Armenian-Greek writer Petros Markarīs in the Rai 1 fiction. Kostas' life is divided between home and work, and both places are a source of concern for him. The family is made up of his loving wife Adriana (Francesca Inaudi) who puts him back in line - especially at the table - and his twenty-year-old daughter Caterina (Blu Yoshimi), engaged and about to graduate. At work, however, he often clashes with his superior Ghikas (Luigi Di Fiore), even if in a diplomatic way. In the chaotic Athens of 2009, a Paradise suspended between East and West, Kostas deals with cases involving illegal immigrants, former spies, entrepreneurs who don't tell the truth, and overly curious journalists.
Kostas: Stefano Freni plays the Greek Montalbano
Kostas begins and ends with the protagonist on the beach. A bit like our Inspector Montalbano, who begins the day with his usual swim and ends it in the same way, almost as if to clear his head. Fresi's character follows the same path, which helps him to distract himself from everyday thoughts and immerse himself in a world of his own. The beautiful Athena is only apparently an idyllic Paradise since blood and pain hide in its streets. The Rai fiction, directed by Milena Cocozza, highlights these two settings, also in contrast to the tone of the narration. The funny family scenes, in which Kostas is constantly reprimanded by his wife because he has to be careful with his food, alternate with those of Athens by night, where criminals and ambiguous characters reign supreme. Just like Luca Zingaretti's Salvo Montalbano (but here in a more sly version), Kostas Charitos wanders through this God-forsaken humanity in search of a sense of justice.
In four episodes, all based on Markaris' three novels Ultime della Notte, Difesa a Zona, and Si è suicidato il Che, the Rai fiction presents a different case for each of them. Apparently, they seem to have no connection between them, but it soon turns out that they have a common thread towards a shocking ending.
Kostas and the shadow of his father in a city of sin
What is striking about Kostas is this setting of Athens in 2009; it is a crucial year in which the specter of the economic crisis hovers. The city is out of control. Kostas wanders through traffic on board his old Fiat 131 Mirafiori, or what remains of the father he never accepted in his life. There is so much bureaucracy in circulation in a world in profound evolution and close to collapse. Perhaps this is why the witty protagonist hides away in the evening reading of his dictionary, where every evening he fishes out a word, reads it, and absorbs its full meaning. Stefano Fresi's character is full of facets, which the screenplay manages to bring to the stage on every occasion: at work, as often happens with family, Kostas is critical of everything, but in reality, he only hides a big heart. Like his love for his wife Adriana, despite the various skirmishes that see them as protagonists, and his affection for his daughter Caterina, which leads him to be judicious towards all the boys who hang around her. At work, he can recognize the talent of secretary Klio (played by Maria Chiara Centorami), the only woman in the police station, who demonstrates greater intuitive skills than her male colleagues.
Fundamental in Kostas is the relationship with his father Stefanos Charitos, a former policeman during the dictatorship of the colonels, who had silently witnessed the interrogations and violence inflicted on opponents of the regime. The protagonist will discover an unexpected human side of his father thanks to the confidences of Lambros, a former revolutionary, with whom the man struck up a friendship.
Kostas: evaluation and conclusion
Kostas, the Rai 1 fiction with Stefano Fresi, is a sort of Greek version of Montalbano. More sly and ironic than the character played by Luca Zingaretti, this policeman wanders around an apparently perfect Athens, where bureaucrats and ambiguous characters hide. The fiction is light and pleasant to follow, thanks to a cast that holds up perfectly: the family scenes between Kostas, his wife, and his daughter are those that work best. A little less so is the presentation of the various murder cases, which do not shine for originality, but overall they contribute to making the fiction an enjoyable product.