Today, we are reviewing an interesting and unusual cinematic piece — the Argentine-made sci-fi series «The Eternaut», which was released on Netflix on April 30 and is also an adaptation of the Argentine comic book of the same name, set in the 1950s. The author Héctor Germán Oesterheld and illustrator Francisco Solano Lopez worked on the painting. As always, we are ready to tell you whether the Argentine filmmakers managed to make a high-quality product that is competitive with the richest Netflix video library without spoilers in the review below.
Genre science fiction
Creator Bruno Stagnaro
Starring Ricardo Darin, Carla Peterson, Cesar Troncoso, Andrea Pietra, Ariel Staltari, Marcelo Subiotto, Maura Fish, Claudio Martinez, Orianna Cardenas
Premiere Netflix
Year of release 2025
Website IMDb
Buenos Aires. One summer evening, a group of old friends meet at the home of one of them, the grumpy mustachioed Alfredo Favalli, to play truco with a bottle of whiskey. Not bad, but in the midst of the fun, the power goes out and it starts snowing outside, which is strange for the capital of Argentina, especially in the hot summertime. But the disturbing strangeness doesn’t end there: later it becomes clear that anyone who comes into contact with the mysterious snow dies instantly.
Against the backdrop of the apocalypse unfolding just outside the window, the bewildered friends are forced to react to the circumstances. Juan Salvo is determined to go to his ex-wife and daughter to prevent the irreparable damage, so he pulls on all the rags and a nice coat and gas mask he can find (fortunately, an old mask was lying around in Favalli’s house and came in handy) and sets off on his journey. Now, in a rapidly changing and decaying world, all the survivors will have to engage in an uncompromising struggle for survival in the face of a mysterious threat.
The original graphic novel «The Eternaut» was written by Argentine journalist and comic book author Héctor Germán Oesterheld and illustrated by his countryman Francisco Solano López and published in the magazine Hora Cero Semanal from 1957 to 1959. Later, the story received a reboot known as «The Eternaut 1969», to which Oesterheld gave a distinct political context, and then there was a series of sequels. Some of them were already created by other authors, as Oesterheld joined the Montoneros guerrilla movement and in 1977 was kidnapped and probably killed by the military dictatorship of the time.
Plans to film «The Eternaut» have been in the air since 1968, but the filmmakers have only just managed to realize this idea. Moreover, the emergence of a series of this magnitude and its international screening has become a landmark event for Argentine cinema. Despite the fact that the original comic book was published almost 70 years ago, today its adaptation does not seem outdated or irrelevant.
The creators have appropriately moved the action to the present day. And perhaps there is no better time to release the show, given the current situation. It features a Spanish-speaking country suffers from blackout and the snow falls, let’s say, at the wrong time of year (and how can we not recall the April frosts and snowfalls that visited Ukraine a few weeks ago). At the same time, there are certain echoes of the political component, as one of the characters recalls the mass riots in Argentina in 2001, and the protagonist experiences flashbacks of the Falklands War.
The story begins in full in the spirit of Hollywood (if not so sweepingly), as if Roland Emmerich had come to the set with his unbridled desire to subject the metropolis to a large-scale catastrophe, including freezing it to death. However, such an association may arise at first, because the snow here is not just ordinary, but toxic, as one of the actors put it in a short behind-the-scenes video: «This is not Brooklyn in the snow, but Avenida Cabildo», even if the local Statue of Liberty appears in the frame.
That is, the fact that something like this happens in Buenos Aires, and not in conventional New York, adds to the story’s originality and distinguishes it from high-budget Hollywood snows, at least in terms of atmosphere.
Screenwriters Bruno Stagnaro and Ariel Statari are much more interested in the fate and interaction of the characters than in the apocalypse and its course, unlike Emmerich with his archetypal idols against the backdrop of beautifully drawn computer-generated tornadoes or orange-sized hailstorms.
Hence the unhurried, uneven pace of the story. There are many characters here, each of them needs to be introduced to the viewer, each of them needs to have their own mini-story, each of them needs to talk to each other and find out about their relationships, circumstances, etc. Plus, we have to pay attention to the unbearable human behavior that is already common in post-apocalyptic films. Therefore, along with the action and tense scenes, which are also abundant, there are frankly boring ones, which spoils the overall impression of what we saw. And the long-term friendship shown in the film cannot be called one that evokes a sincere response.
Over the course of 6 episodes lasting from 40 minutes to an hour, the creators will gradually lift the veil of secrecy to give you an understanding of what’s going on (and the less you know before watching — the better). But no one is in a hurry to reveal all the cards.
As you watch, you will have logical questions, some of which, at least for now, will not be answered. And if some events suddenly seem incomprehensible, if you feel indignant, as if something is clearly wrong, remember that there is a primary source, and that certain explanations are clearly reserved for a possible sequel. And it is begging for it as never before: «The Eternaut» literally stops in mid-sentence (we haven’t even gotten to «Estadio Monumental» yet) and only hints at what is to come.
With a sharply interesting plot and a moderately exciting development of events, decent special effects for a television project, but an uneven pace of narration, when you get bored and can’t tear yourself away from the screen, this Argentine show has enough strength to wait for the second season. So let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.