After the series Valid (available on MyCANAL) on the world of rap, Franck Gastambide goes behind – and in front of – the camera to introduce us to the world of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) in the series he created for Netflix, The Cage (our opinion). Full of references to the saga Rockyof which Franck Gastambide is a fan, this five-episode series, which one might believe is nothing more than a riot of testosterone, features aesthetic and breathtaking fights, but turns out to be a poignant drama. In the cast, Franck Gastambide and Melvin Boomer opposite Edwige Ahonto (Elena), Antoine Simony (Niko), Yanisse Kebbab (Bilal), and Bosh (Ibrahim). As well as legends of this sport including Georges Saint-Pierre, Ciryl Gane and Jon Jones.
The Cage (Netflix): What does the series created by Franck Gastambide say?
Coming from a very modest background, Taylor (Melvin Boomer), a young MMA fighter, tries at all costs to attract the attention of “Boss” (Franck Gastambide), the manager of the gym who manages the training. pros. To impress him and convince him to become his coach, Taylor takes on the crazy challenge of fighting Ibrahim, a violent and dangerous practitioner of the discipline, who has a habit of injuring his opponents and humiliating them on social networks. This fight will turn Taylor's life upside down, but is it for better or worse?
The Cage (Netflix): Franck Gastambide reacts to the shock finale of season 1
As for his series Validwhich concluded with a tragic outcome, the end of The Cage is a real shock. This finale almost never saw the light of day. “For the record, I experienced the same thing with the end of Valid. I was in front of my authors, and none of them wanted to accept this idea. I was the only one saying, “I promise it’s great!“, and they answered me: “No, it’s too hard, it’s not good”. This ending was divisive, but hey, turns out I'm the one who decides [Il rit]so I ended up saying: – “We’re going to do that, it’s going to be very strong!”. The reality of this last scene is that I wanted to say that we sometimes surround ourselves, because of self-confidence problems, with bad people. In this case, Taylor places his trust in a person who wants his best, until jealousy takes over. I wanted to show a horrible betrayal, but one that we can humanly understand, even if we don't excuse it. I didn't invent anything, that's what we find in Alexandre Dumas, in The Count of Monte Cristo: That's all the cruelty that jealousy can engender in someone. This is what the end of the series is about.” Franck Gastambide did well to remain faithful to his idea, because we are left breathless by this ending of tragic beauty.
