CNN
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After unleashing the hoopla Netflix unleashed with “Tiger King,” its latest line of docuseries may involve a different four-footed creature. Like the previous sensation, “Gunther’s Millions” is actually about queer people presented, but its actual statistics expose how the media can be manipulated by the too-good-to-be-true (or too-fun-to-be-true) way. check) story — in this case, a German shepherd with a $400-million trust fund.
The story, spread over four parts, centers on a dog who lives in a luxurious Florida estate once owned by Madonna, which has 27 permanent employees. As for the money, it is attributed to a German countess who loved the dog and, in the absence of any surviving family, decided to leave him (his Roman numerals updated descendants) in the lap of luxury.
However, Gunther’s caretaker, Italian pharmaceutical heir Maurizio Mian, has his hands all over Gunther’s story (or Val). , known as the Burgundians, are basically portrayed as human Ken and Barbie dolls. However, the seemingly funny thing (“Stay Classy, Miami”) has a creepier side that reflects Mian’s physical perfectionism and penchant for whacky social experiments on the elusive nature of happiness.
Before it ends, the series – directed by Aurelian Leturgy – will reveal a lot about the truth behind Gunther’s millions and the unanswered questions about when, where and how he made his fortune.
Long before that, there are parts of this story that don’t pass the smell test, and you wouldn’t know it by watching the news clips sprinkled throughout the docuseries — from most local TV outlets — hook, line, and sinker for the human-interest aspects of what they can bill as “the richest dog in the world.”
The whimsical nature of the presentation suggests that the filmmakers are positioning this as a kind of docu-comedy, right down to the lively moments when Mian or one of Gunther’s “workers” interrupts a question or occasionally asks the filmmakers to turn it off. Cameras.
Ultimately, “Gunther’s Millions” has a dark side that serves at least as much as an indictment of those who gave Mian and the others so much media exposure regardless of the red flags that eventually waved in the last two chapters.
In this category, earning the “weird” label is half the battle, and “Gunther’s Millions” certainly qualifies. Still, the docuseries actually work on several levels, and while its dog star (currently Gunther VI, incidentally) seems like a good kid, the coverage surrounding him is proof of how the media can go to the dogs in more ways than one.
“Gunther’s Millions” premieres on Netflix on February 1.
