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Reviews
Dark (2017)
Intelligent. Sad. Wise. Masterful.
I've seen the future, and Dark is the best TV series that Netflix will ever have the rights to.
I've seen season 1 and 2 three times, and season 3 twice. For anyone new to watching, I'd like to say: no matter what, stay with it until the end of the third episode (season 1). This is personally where I was having 'Ooh...Ahhh' moments and became unconditionally and completely invested!
I would like to think myself a fairly intelligent person.. but I can safely say that I can't hold this whole tapestry suspended in memory all at one time when watching each scene. It is too large and too intricate.
This in turn makes rewatching the series a real pleasure, and there are so many new details to discover each time. Truly! The more observant a person you are, the more satisfaction you will draw from it.
Multiple times I found myself pausing just so I can get my bearings, in relation to the family trees or the generation of a person being shown on screen at the time.
For me, I have a good grasp on understanding much of season 1, the grasp began to slip as season 2 unfolds, and I find myself pretty lost with season 3! But the last episode brought back some of that lost understanding. I think I'm quite content with not fully understanding the relation between every single scene/event, because I can watch it again some time to deepen the understanding or just marvel at the journey. (Much like beautiful David Lynch films, for completely different dreamy reasons!)
Which leads me to this. When you combine amazingly talented writing, casting (wow), sound, visual art, philosophy, scientific theory and style like this.. the creators have us eating out of their hands. And because of this, when they want to deliver an emotional punch... it knocks you to your knees. Each season has some deeply sad yet beautiful moments, and somehow it also instills empowerment in the viewer.
The only down side you will have from watching this is that you won't get a rush from watching anything long after seeing this. It demands your attention and will require you to burn some calories with logic and reasoning, and your emotions! For a long time afterwards, watching other tv shows or movies that are 'meant' to be good, will all play like a brainless soap opera. The bar for quality has been set.
Thank you for making this series.
I love every bit of it.
P. S If you disable Netflix's 'autoplay next episode' function so you can watch all the end credits every time, you will be rewarded with a track that evolves across the 3 seasons. And the track seems to be in atmos, for those with a great sound system!
Znaki (2018)
Many scenes like beautiful paintings....
A couple of little bits in the first episode had me wondering if I was about to watch a soap opera. Not exactly sure why I had that feeling. It could have been a transition or background music. It was a bit of a mixed bag, but definitely engaging enough to keep watching. I'm happy I did, because I enjoyed it!
As another reviewer has mentioned, one should not watch this if they've trying to quit smoking, (or drinking)! It's everywhere. Everyone's smoking darts, all the time! And half of the characters are boozing as well. I don't think any of the filled ashtrays contained stunt cigarettes. They were all legitimately smoked. By cast, by crew, even by passers-by perhaps!
The reason I wanted to write a review is because I think the camera work should not go unnoticed. Yes, it is a help to have some naturally stunning nature to film around, but I sense that whoever is in charge of getting these shots must have a real art background. Almost every scene/shot is balanced and framed beautifully, whether it be with colour, or the asymmetric balance of objects/scenery. The detail is amazing. Falling snow, rain, shining drops of water in the sun after a recent downpour...The elements were captured beautifully. The colour grading in this show is absolutely stunning. This shines on a nice OLED, where you can see how well they've handled the many night time scenes, and indoor scenes with daylight streaming in, fire, skin tones etc.. Everything is balanced and beautiful. Also, great to have a full 16x9 ratio filling up my TV space for a change!
The story? Engaging enough for sure. Kept me interested! It's always nice to have variety. I search out international shows like these because it's so great to see other countries and their people, even if it's fiction!
I know it's a strange review, talking all about the things on the surface as opposed to the whole, but as I mentioned earlier, I felt the need to call out talent when I see it!
A big hello to Poland from me in Australia. :-)
The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015)
Captivating and unsettling
Suspense builds constantly. Love the sharp lighting and dreary colour. It really started to get under my skin as it unfolded, and that's great.