“The Little Girl in the Snow” on Netflix: a diabolical police and feminist series

A slightly terrifying rabbit mask, a last look, a festive crowd, a hand that lets go and a little girl who disappears. Her name is Amaya, she is pretty as a heart and her parents’ life is turned into horror. Terribly effective, this series in six episodes of less than an hour, inspired by a Spanish bestseller by Javier Castillo, “The Little Girl in the Snow” (to be published in March in France), is devoured in one go and currently points to the first position of the Netflix ranking.

Nothing more classic than a kidnapping of a child to camp a thriller. But here, the particularly well-crafted plot is as diabolical as it is original. Of the girl, we only find her yellow raincoat and, despite the magnitude of the case, the investigation is bogged down. The years pass, the parents do not want to lose hope but the couple explodes and the police seem to have moved on.

Only Miren, a trainee journalist at the time of Amaya’s disappearance, doesn’t give up. So, when six years after the abduction an old VHS tape of the living little girl is sent, it is the young reporter who receives it. The series takes us on several periods in a hypnotic investigation in search of the child.

A flawless interpretation

We follow in turn the work of a duo of investigators, and especially that of Miren, supported at her beginnings by an old veteran of her newspaper. We also quickly understand that behind his determination to find the disappeared hide heavy and painful secrets. This investigation should help save her from her demons and the violence she has suffered.

Carried by great actors, and in particular Milena Smit (seen in the last Almodovar, “Madres paralelas”), who plays the heroine, “the Little Girl in the Snow” is a nice surprise. It is also much more than a very good detective series since through its main character it also denounces violence against womenthe latter holding the strongest roles here.

The series confirms that Iberian fiction is currently on the rise, like “Antidisturbios”a nugget signed by the popular director of Spanish cinema Rodrigo Sorogoyen, released last year and which immersed us in the daily life and intimacy of a riot squad.