Invisible City, fantasy and mythology from Brazil

Marco Pigossi in Invisible City. A large butterfly sits atop his eyes.

Invisible City (Cidade Invisível) comes from Brazil. It’s a modern day mystery that involves entities from Brazilian mythology. The series, in Brazilian Portuguese, has 7 episodes. A second season has already been approved.

Invisible City (Cidade Invisível) reminded me of some of my favorite shows that take mythological characters and put them in modern situations. Lost Girl and Wynonna Earp are good examples – but don’t expect humor. Invisible City is serious as serious can be. Shape shifters, mermaids, flaming men, mesmers, evil dry bones and other Brazilian folklore characters were used in the story.

Marco Pigossi and Julia Konrad as Eric and Gabriela in Invisible City
Gabriela dies in the first episode, but appears in various ways in every episode of season 1

Eric (Marco Pigossi) is a police officer in the environmental protection department. One night his wife Gabriela (Julia Konrad) and daughter Luna (Manuela Dieguez) are visiting a fishing village where the citizens are fighting over whether or not to sell to a developer. A fire in the forest kills Gabriela. Luna is found staring at the fire.

Marco Pigossi and Manuela Dieguez in Invisible City

Eric and Luna live with Eric’s mother, who helps care for the grieving Luna. After only a month of leave, Eric wants to go back to police work so he can figure out who started the fire that killed his wife.

Eric’s partner is Marcia (Áurea Maranhão). She tries to hold him back from some of the stunts he pulls as he looks for answers, but he’s not in a mood to listen to reason. He defies his captain and the law in his obsession to find an answer.

The first case he gets when he’s back on the job is investigating a dead pink river dolphin washed on the shores of Rio de Janeiro. Before morning, the dolphin has turned into a man from the village where his wife was killed. That leads to the characters who have supernatural abilities.

Alessandra Negrini and Jéssica Córes in Invisible City
Inês and Camila have unusual powers

Inês (Alessandra Negrini) and Camila (Jéssica Córes) are among the first people Eric finds who are actually ancient entities in human form. Inês, in particular, had many special talents and powers. She was a fascinating character to me. These two work in a bar with Tutu (Jimmy London).

Fábio Lago, Jéssica Córes, and Wesley Guimarães in Invisible City
Yeah, they know they’re special

There’s a drunk in a wheelchair, Iberê (Fábio Lago), a young fellow with a fake leg, Isac (Wesley Guimarães), and numerous others from the village.

Soon after the investigation gets going, all the fish in the sea near the village die. Then people from the village start to die or disappear.

Eric frantically tries to learn who is responsible for his wife’s death while dealing with all these magically powered characters. The more he digs, the more he realizes it’s all interrelated and connected. The reveals are carefully written and spread across the 7 episodes in a way that maintains the mystery and suspense. The final episode end in an ambiguous way that leaves an opening the season 2.

The special effects were minimal, but added to the plot very well. I especially liked the guy who ran around in the forest with his hair on fire and the beautiful effects with the butterflies.

Júlia Pacheco Jordão directed several episodes. She also directed the excellent Brazilian sci-fi Omniscient.

Overall, I found Invisible City (Cidade Invisível) better than average but not great. The episodes go by quickly and definitely hold your interest.

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