We've been on a bad streak. We've watched a bunch of shows that have not been up to recommendation level, but last night we started one...
If there's one show I want to recommend before that, it's "Srugim," on Amazon. My sister Jill said to check it out, but I was reluctant because its focus is Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem and Felice is not Jewish. But she got hooked and was sad when the show ended as was I. You get involved in these people's lives, you know them, and then the series end and you're wondering where they are now. Actually, with these Israeli shows, with a lot of these foreign shows, you can look the actors up online. Of course it's real life, as opposed to their characters, but still... They're on Facebook, Instagram. It's different from the U.S. They don't consider themselves stars so much as actors. They partcipate online as regular people, as opposed to boasters reinforcing they're better than you are. Maybe it's because the markets are so much smaller. Unless they graduate to American productions, they can only be so well known, can only be so rich. Furthermore, you get used to the people, the same ones appear in multiple shows. Like Caroline Proust in "The Tunnel." Proust is the star of "Spiral," which if you haven't watched I once again will recommend that you do, it's one of the best streaming shows on television. Anyway, in "Spiral" Proust is a beautiful, but down to earth cop, who is psychologically screwed up and therefore can't have a good relationship. In "The Tunnel" Proust is a mousy housewife, you almost don't recognize her. And it's strange that she's got a lesser role even though "Sprial" was already a hit. This does not happen in America, once you've made it, you must be the star.
Anyway, relationships are relationships, which is why "Srugim" resonates. Yes, they are Orthodox Jews, but they are not black hats, and other than praying and wearing kippahs, they're no different from you and me. One is a doctor, one is a graphic designer, another a teacher... But there is a strong sense of community. They get together every Friday night for Shabbat dinner. But if you're thirty and unmarried, whether a girl or guy... And there are unfulfilled crushes and... I really recommend "Srugim," assuming you're into relationship shows. And, one of the stars, Tali Sharon, was in the original "In Treatment." Yes, it was an Israeli show first, as was "Homeland."
As for "The Tunnel"... I recommend it, but probably the original Danish-Swedish production entitled "The Bridge" is better. It's kind of like music, the person who wrote the song usually does the best version, it may not be a hit, but the way they emote...they wrote the words! Anyway, I will not buy a series, what am I going to do with it after I watch it once? It's not like a record, which you can play over and over again. And a show should be on one of the services I already subscribe to, I subscribe to all the major ones. But, "The Tunnel" is good, very good, but not "Srugim," not great.
Oh, did I mention "False Flag"? That's another Israeli show, it's just that like too many crime novels there are twists at the end that explain it all, keeping the series from being absolutely top tier.
And we just finished watching "La Mante." A French series about serial killers. It stars Carole Bouquet, one of the most beautiful women in the world. You might know her as the face of Chanel. Anyway, in "La Mante" she wears no makeup, and she's had no plastic surgery, pretty fascinating. But despite the acting being good, "La Mante" is flawed.
But "Delhi Crime"? WHEW!
We've only watched one episode, but usually it's best to write when I'm hot, when I feel it, when I can't wait to watch the next episode.
Now sometimes "Delhi Crime" is in English, not that you'd fully understand it, but if you've got a problem with subtitles... Once again, all those American remakes of foreign shows are inferior to the originals.
So, "Delhi Crime"... It's based on a real crime. And it's on Netflix. And they spent a ton of money, you can tell by the images. Funny how cinematography has moved to the flat screen. Beautiful images made "Goliath," at least the first season, after that it's junk. But "Delhi Crime"...
Cops. Where there's not enough money and too much crime.
And we believe in the U.S. that everybody with a different skin color in a far away country is exotically different, probably inferior. But you watch "Delhi Crime" and that is not so. These are educated, middle class people.
So, the rich colors, the rickshaws...this is India. If you've been there, you'll recognize it. And if you have, you'll want to go back. Despite the huge economic issues, so many people living in poverty with few chances of moving up the economic ladder, once you do, everybody's got a college degree, everybody can analyze the issues, it's mind-blowing. In the rest of the world, the music business is not an intellectual pursuit, but in India... Well, maybe I'm overstating the case, maybe I should just say the people in India are as sophisticated as those in the rest of the world. And it's a huge country with a different system, everything derives from Bollywood and...
The head cop's daugher wants to go to school in Toronto. If you've been to Toronto, you know it's a hotbed of nationalities, a cab driver told me more than any other city in the world, and he's got to be at least, if not more, trustworthy than those testifying in Congress.
And the head cop knows who is slacking.
And the window to catch the perps is short.
And the infrastructure of the police is so bad. Cops manning a checkpoint who don't, they let everybody through. Cops without wheels. Favors to get anything done.
You can tell watching these shows, what is great and what is not. You can feel it, you're drawn in, it's a whole world that you are now inhabiting. This is the richness of streaming television. It used to be in the movies, but those days are gone, as for foreign films, they're only two hours or so, these series can go on for years!
So, I'm always looking for something that demands my focus, that I enjoy experiencing, with a visceral edge, with a sense of truth. That's "Delhi Crime," at least so far.
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