Unwanted – Hostages of the sea (from tonight at 9.30pm on Sky Atlantic and streaming on Now) And a series that tells, between entertainment and an eye on reality, about a group of migrants which are saved after a shipwreck from a cruise ship sailing the waters of Mediterranean. From that moment two opposite mountains meet and collide.
What to do when an emigrant boat wrecks in front of your ship? This is the question that arises Captain Arrigo. And not only that: once saved, what will be their fate? The objective of the rescued men and women is to reach Italy, but the order from above is to lead them to Tunisia. Death is better for migrants.
Unwanted: Hostages of the Sea: the plot
It’s an evening like many others on the Orizzonte cruise ship, the passengers are dancing and drinking to the music. A short distance away migrant boat wrecks. Commander Arrigo (Marco Bocci) spots them from his cabin and orders them to be rescued. 28 women, men and children will be saved. The immigrants are accommodated in a very specific area of the liner and ordered not to leave the rooms to prevent reality from interrupting the dream of cruise passengers.
Inevitably the drama of their lives mixes with those of the travellers. Slowly we know the story of the Nigerian Tareq (Dada Bozela) who shares a room with the Eritrean Ibrahimready to do anything to join his wife and daughter in Italy. Together they will lead the group of migrants to hijack the ship. AND the only way not to return to Libya, where they suffered torture of all kinds.
Among the travelers there are Nicola (Marco Palvetti) and Diletta (Denise Capezza), a couple who are unable to have children and that cruise could represent a new beginning. From the first moment she sees it newborn Miracle in the arms of her mother Marem, Diletta falls in love with the little girl. Franco (Francesco Acquaroli) and Silvia (Cecilia Dazi) no longer fuel their passion: she tries to have funhe loses his head for the Nigerian Sophia.
Marco Bocci and Jessica Schwarz. (Sky)
Unwanted: a highly political series
The international series Unwanted – Hostages of the seadirected by the German director Oliver Hirschbiegel (The Fall – Hitler’s Last Days), is freely taken from Bilal (The ship of Theseus), the investigative book of the undercover journalist Fabrizio Gatti, who told his story journey along the Sahara routes, between migrants who move from Africa to reach Europe and those who profit from their desperation.
The screenwriter Stefano Bises wanted to compare the stories of migrants on a ship representing the Western world. «It seemed like an interesting narrative opportunity to try to explain the reasons on both sides – explains the screenwriter of The New Pope – the series does not take sides, but leads with a gigantic and clear political meaning: Serious trouble and deaths happen when walls go up. On the ship, things come to a head when it is decided that the 28 migrants must not arrive in Italy».
There are reasons on both sides of the “wall”: on the one hand Arrigo takes orders from above, and follows what the law requires. On the other there are the reasons of human beings who no longer want to live in horror.
The series deals with Fabrizio Gatti’s investigative book
The rights to Fabrizio Gatti’s book had been acquired by the German producer Sascha Rosemann few years ago. «It is no coincidence that they were not purchased by an Italian – he states Bises – the topic is divisive and political.” «It took courage to transpose my investigation in a series – declares the author – when I went to the set in 2021 I went back in time, to that trip to the Sahara. Unwanted it didn’t betray the essence of the book».
Marco Bocci and Jessica Schwarz. (Sky)
«I hope politicians see this too. Barriers and borders are within our cultures and it is complicated to overcome them – says Gatti – «Now there is talk of a demographic collapse in Italy which will lead to a 12% loss in GDP in 2042. The US solved the problem with a company that allowed other people to enter. There are many who knock at our place. All of Europe must rebuild a legal route of entry».
«The series tells us that what we have done so far hasn’t worked – Bises intervenes – I don’t care if the politicians see it. They know the situation well. I’m interested in the ship’s passengers understanding this».
Marco Bocci and the internal conflict of Captain Arrigo
Marco Bocci plays the captain Arrigo Benedetti Valentini, for the first time in command of a cruise ship. «It was complicated to play this role, but I didn’t understand it right away – says the actor. When I was chosen I felt lucky especially because we were facing a current topic in an alternative way. After the initial enthusiasm I realized the difficulties: Unwanted it’s a series that puts you in front of many questions, the same questions we ask ourselves every day when we watch a news program. What is the good thing to do? Is there a right law to respect? From there an internal conflict arises, the same one that Arrigo has to face.
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