Tear Along The Dotted Line Review: The Masterpiece Series By Zerocalcare Perfect Writing

Starring: Zerocalcare, Valerio Mastandrea, Paolo Vivio

Creators: Zerocalcare

Streaming Platform: Netflix (watch from here)

Ratings: 4.5/5 (four and half star) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Life is a kaleidoscope of possibilities. Regrets, obstacles, projects, loves, the search for an identity or a place in the world. And Zerocalcare knows it well, who has transformed the value of nostalgia into a poetic grammar of his entire comic production. And that’s why we couldn’t help but keep an eye on Tear Along The Dotted Line (À Découper Suivant Les Pointillés) the animated series that the Roman artist has conceived, written, directed and performed in collaboration with Netflix. We have seen them all, the 6 episodes that make up the series debuting on the streaming platform from November 17 among the Netflix news of November 2021. And we can only applaud the irony, depth and ability of storytelling of an author who still seems to have a lot to tell, as already emerged in our interview with Zerocalcare.

Tear Along The Dotted Line Review: The Story

At the center of the plot of Tear Along The Dotted Line there is a journey. Zero and his friends Sarah and Secco are leaving for a trip, destination Biella. We will not write the reasons here, leaving it to the vision to lead the viewer to the necessary clarifications. This frame is an opportunity for Zerocalcare to reflect in general on his own identity, on who he was, summarizing some events in his life that somehow forged him into the person he is, showing all his idiosyncrasies, his obsessions, his flaws. The dimension of the journey appears, therefore, not only a narrative excuse to give space to these interior monologues staged with the style that characterizes the Roman cartoonist, true to himself even in a great production like this animated series about the streaming giant, but the very meaning of history. A journey presupposes a departure and an arrival, and the protagonists will evolve in the meantime, renewing themselves. It is a double journey, physical and material, from Rome to Biella, and mental, from the child to the adult. The first example of the enormous writing quality of Tear Along The Dotted Line.

The Review and Analysis

Tear Along The Dotted Line is simply the stylistic and poetic sum of Zerocalcare. A product designed and created so that only Michele Rech was the undisputed protagonist in the writing and interpretation of the characters. Everything, from the choice of sound accompaniments to the lines, passing through the voice of the protagonists (all recited vocally by Zerocalcare) screams at the top of the lungs the incredible creative and narrative inspiration of the author of La profezia dell’armadillo and Kobane Calling.

A product with a big heart, in which Netflix had the merit of leaving total creative freedom to its creator. Between the lines of the writing of this series, all fans of Rech’s comics production will find what made his bibliography great in the Italian comics scene. And that’s okay: at this point, we really can’t wait to see what else an author will do as he begins to become exquisitely multifaceted.

Tear off along the edge speaks of Zero but shares the reflections that denote the identity and in turn social crisis of an entire generation. Here lies the real strength of Zerocalcare. Imbued with humor, quoting the pop world, but remaining well anchored to the contemporary, the series stages the strengths and weaknesses of all of us. It removes the filter and above all gives voice to the same inner thoughts of most of the audience of reference (how many times, while laughing at what you are seeing, do you get to think “Is it exactly like that”?) Becoming a mirror on which to reflect. Perhaps this is precisely the secret of an artist who has the strength not to compromise, managing, extraordinarily, to catalyze the attention of an increasingly vast audience that can only increase with a series such as Rip along the edges.

The Final Words

Tear Along The Dotted Line is Zerocalcare at maximum power. The merit of Netflix lies in having left full creative freedom to an author who still seems to have a lot to say, and who in his little pills of daily life weaves a horizontal story made of many emotions and tears. A product that will be loved by those who follow Michele Rech and by those who have never read one of his comics: and given the quality of his writing, the feeling is that Zerocalcare will make many new fans.