Money Heist Part 1 (2017)

Robbers in red jumpsuits enter Spain’s Royal Mint wearing Salvador Dalí masks. Money Heist is a crime drama that aired on Spain’s Antena 3 in 2017, then was picked up by Netflix and released globally — creating an international phenomenon. Created by Álex Pina, Part 1 consists of thirteen episodes. The Spanish title is La Casa de Papel, and it is better known internationally by the English title Money Heist. The Dalí mask and red jumpsuit were initially just a costume, but as the drama succeeded they began appearing at protest sites worldwide as symbols of resistance.

What it’s about — An Operation Occupying the Mint

The Professor (Álvaro Morte) designs an unprecedented heist operation: occupy Spain’s Royal Mint for five months while negotiating with police, simultaneously printing money inside with the hostages. Each robber is assigned a city as a codename — Tokyo (Úrsula Corberó), Berlin (Pedro Alonso), Nairobi, Rio, and other strong-willed personalities assembled together. Outside, police negotiator Raquel (Itziar Ituño) engages in intense cat-and-mouse mind games with the Professor.

Direction — Editing Between Past and Present

The key that distinguishes Money Heist from other heist stories is the structure in which Tokyo’s narration drives the story and past-and-present cross-cutting is employed. Showing the Professor’s operation planning through flashbacks and cutting against the current crisis maintains tension continuously. Despite the long episode count, all thirteen episodes are designed so that some unexpected variable appears, leaving no room for boredom. The use of red and gold as the drama’s visual colours is impressive.

Performance & characters — The Professor with Two Faces

Álvaro Morte’s Professor is the drama’s greatest character. He renders with balance a figure in whom a cold strategist and a human who can’t suppress his emotions coexist. Úrsula Corberó’s Tokyo is impulsive and unpredictable, and in her dual role as narrator and observer she adds human warmth to this world of chaos. Pedro Alonso’s Berlin is the most contested character, but also the most unforgettable.

What the work says — Resistance, Not Theft

Money Heist is not a simple heist drama. The robbers occupy the Royal Mint and print the state’s own money — defining this not as theft but as resistance. Post-financial-crisis Spanish society’s anger, the emotion of resistance against the establishment, are embedded within this setup. The reason viewers emotionally invest in the robbers isn’t simply because they are the protagonists.

Ratings & reception

IMDb score is 8.2. After initial airing in Spain in 2017 with little attention, it was re-edited and repackaged by Netflix and released globally — becoming a worldwide hit in 2018–2019. It held the record for most-viewed non-English Netflix drama for a long time. It received uniformly high ratings from both audiences and critics, becoming the most widely known work in Spanish drama history. Netflix subsequently produced local remakes in Korea, India, Germany, and elsewhere, a measure of the original’s influence.

What doesn’t work

Given the long episode count, some episodes have a tendency toward dramatic excess. The structure of generating a new crisis every episode means the back half can feel somewhat repetitive. It is also worth bearing in mind that the Netflix-edited version and the original Spanish broadcast version differ in editing.

Verdict

Money Heist Part 1 is the work that announced Spanish drama’s possibilities to the world. It is a high-quality crime drama where heist tension, character appeal, and social message combine. These thirteen episodes explain why the Dalí mask became a symbol of resistance. The Professor as a character changed actor Álvaro Morte’s career, drawing a line between before and after. Netflix’s willingness to produce local remakes in Korea, India, and Germany speaks to how powerful the original was. My rating is ★4.0.

Recommended for

• Those looking for the thrill of a battle of wits in a crime drama
• Viewers interested in non-English dramas, particularly Spanish
• Fans who enjoy the chemistry of ensemble casts