At Minerva, being strong seems like an unwritten rule. But what happens when, behind the discipline and security, fears, emotions and fragility begin to emerge? It is one of the themes that thread through Minerva – The School, the new teen series from Netflix set in a military high school in Naples. The cast also includes Giulio Brizzi and Nicole Malaj who portray two characters very different from one another: Max and Rachele, the oldest, because they are already in the third year. They are two youths who seem to have a very clear sense of their place in the world, but within the school they will be forced to question some of their certainties. We spoke with them to talk about their characters and the on-set experience of Minerva – The School which certainly put them to the test, showing them too what it means to truly reconnect with the world, when there is so much time to spend looking less at a screen and more inside themselves. Watch below our exclusive video interview.
Who are Max and Rachele, the “elders” of Minerva – The School
Strange, given how young they are, yet the characters of Max and Rachele are part of the so-called “elders,” i.e., the students who are already in their third year. Max is inflexible, irreverent and particularly hard on the freshmen. For him Minerva also represents an escape, and emotions are something to keep at a distance, because showing them would mean exposing oneself. Rachele, on the other hand, has turned perfection into a goal: the daughter of a fighter pilot killed on a mission, she wants to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a pilot herself. To achieve this, she does not permit errors or weaknesses. Two different paths that share one common point: both will have to discover that what they consider a fragility can become a resource. For Max, it will be his emotionality that proves to be a strength, while Rachele will have to learn that the perfection she pursues does not exist.
Minerva – The School: The Plot
Directed by Ivan Silvestrini and produced by Roberto Sessa for Picomedia, Minerva – The School follows the lives of a group of teenagers inside a military high school where days begin at dawn with the flag-raising, cell phones are not allowed, and civilian clothes are out of the question; among the lessons there are military tactics and fencing. In this world that seems almost timeless, the cadets are pushed to their limits, both physically and psychologically. Each arrives at Minerva with a dream and a clear idea of their future, but the school will end up forcing them to confront a more important question: are those dreams really the right ones for them?
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