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Great (and crap) international shows

Started by Noonling, May 25, 2018, 10:31:16 AM

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Noonling

EDIT: Fecking five minutes later I realise there's an almost identical thread on the first page...Don't know what to do, waaah.

---

Netflix is amazing for international shows, although I'm not sure if there would be enough interest to warrant a separate thread for any in particular. I'm not including classics like The Killing, The Bridge or The Returned because those (probably) all have their own thread.

[You]The Good[/You]
Occupied - I am just in love with this show, although I've only seen series 1 (s2 is not available on UK Netflix yet). In this political thriller the Green Party get into power in Norway and cut off all fossil fuel production to Europe. Europe aren't happy, and basically get Russia to...persuade Norway to keep it up for a bit. A bit of an implausible premise, but beyond that it feels all too real and there's a great sense of creeping dread at how Russia start to gain power. Its also a good example of a show that just couldn't be done by US, or even UK.


Money Heist/La Casa De Papel - Awful English title, but I guess they didn't want it confused with House of Cards? A bunch of criminals decide to occupy the Royal Mint of Spain and print their own money (over several days) while holding hostages. It has some great characters (including an excellently creepy psychopath) and a fast paced plot; I ended up watching it all over a long weekend. Above all its just really fun!


Dark - A German sci-fi, Netflix original. The comparisons to Stranger Things is kinda overwhelming at times as the basic plot involves a bunch of kids in a small town with a spooky mystery (and other aspects that might be spoilerish). I felt it took me a while to get into, and I was always more interested in the plot rather than the characters, although the characters aren't bad. Still highly recommended. I don't think it would be spoilerish to say the show involves time travel, and thus brings my main problem with the show - it feels near impossible to remember who everyone actually is, the cast ends up being quite huge.


3% - A Brazilian dystopian where everyone goes through a selection process to see if they are worthy of living on the "better side" (3% are), while everyone else lives in squalor. Interesting characters and twists, although I didn't feel invested enough to watch the second series yet. At times it felt like it was trying to be unbiased between the 3%ers and the rebels, which is just...odd.


[You]The Mediocre[/You]
The Frozen Dead - A French show where a series of murders all point to a serial killer who is already in prison, and interviewing him only seems to draw people deeper into his web. I did quite like the premise, but something about it just

Mossad 101 - A guilty pleasure - I did actually enjoy it and found it really funny, although I wasn't always sure how funny I was supposed to find it. An Israeli show about a bunch of secret service trainees having to complete a (often ridiculous) course set by a guy who seems to delight in fucking with people's heads. It goes way over the top, which I liked but I suspect most people wouldn't.

[You]The Bad[/You]
The Rain - Such a disappointment. Its supposed to be an (post?)apocalypse show when there is a deadly rain that kills everyone within seconds (a bit silly, but hey, apocalypse), but the plot flickers between predictable and stupid, the characters are idiots and the acting is mediocre. I saw a recommendation for it from someone who saw Dark, but this is incomparably bad.

Re:Mind - A bunch of Japanese schoolgirls wake up to find themselves chained in a dining room and no clue how they got there... I'm not sure I even finished the first episode, just felt like gross titillation. I've read that it doesn't get any better.

I've watched several other shows that I felt were average (mostly crime dramas), but no others that I'd actively advise wasting your time with.

There's a bunch of shows I watched one or two episodes of and I'd love to know if anyone else has seen them and can recommend persevering - La Mante, A Korean Odyssey, The Method, Braquo?

I've only seen La Casa de Papel in Spanish - is the English language version dubbed, or subtitled?  I can't really imagine it in English, as it's somehow a very Spanish kind of series.  But subtitles would be better than a full redub.

DrGreggles

Money Heist is dubbed on Netflix, but doesn't distract from it at all.
Very entertaining stuff - even if some of the plot twists are ridiculous.

Noonling

I watch every with subtitles because I imagine the lack of lip sync would annoy me too much, and they're never going to get the impact right if words are ordered differently.

I don't exactly mind the plot twists, but my main annoyance is how several episodes seemed to end with "Oh dear, everything looks like its gone tits up!" and five minutes into the next episode you find out The Professor had planned for exactly that situation.

Keebleman

Quote from: DrGreggles on May 25, 2018, 06:52:00 PM
Money Heist is dubbed on Netflix, but doesn't distract from it at all.
Very entertaining stuff - even if some of the plot twists are ridiculous.

You can switch to Spanish dialogue and English subtitles, but the subtitling is the worst I've ever seen.  It's often several seconds behind the speaker, so in fast-paced conversations - of which there are lots - it's often hard to work out who is saying what.  Plus too much incidental speech is subtitled.  When one of the crooks was telling the hostages to give up their mobiles, every "Phone" was subtitled, even though there was another conversation going on at the same time.  But dubbing looks cheap and tacky.  Best solution is just to learn Spanish.

rjd2

Quote from: Noonling on May 25, 2018, 10:31:16 AM
EDIT: Fecking five minutes later I realise there's an almost identical thread on the first page...Don't know what to do, waaah.

---

Netflix is amazing for international shows, although I'm not sure if there would be enough interest to warrant a separate thread for any in particular. I'm not including classics like The Killing, The Bridge or The Returned because those (probably) all have their own thread.

[You]The Good[/You]
Occupied - I am just in love with this show, although I've only seen series 1 (s2 is not available on UK Netflix yet). In this political thriller the Green Party get into power in Norway and cut off all fossil fuel production to Europe. Europe aren't happy, and basically get Russia to...persuade Norway to keep it up for a bit. A bit of an implausible premise, but beyond that it feels all too real and there's a great sense of creeping dread at how Russia start to gain power. Its also a good example of a show that just couldn't be done by US, or even UK.
[

I adored Occupied also and praised it in the other thread. I'd recommend very strongly The Bureau.  Its the best French show I seen since the returned. Its on Amazon Prime both seasons. It does not rely on a barrage of twists, the ones that do happen while shocking make sense in the moment. Its also got Buddy from Friday Night Lights as a Yank in it!

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/09/arts/television/tv-review-occupied-netflix-the-bureau-itunes.html



Steven

Quote from: rjd2 on June 01, 2018, 10:54:36 PM
I adored Occupied also and praised it in the other thread. I'd recommend very strongly The Bureau.  Its the best French show I seen since the returned. Its on Amazon Prime both seasons. It does not rely on a barrage of twists, the ones that do happen while shocking make sense in the moment.

Like the amazing "I'm closing The Bureau.. for an hour" moment!


shh

I'm only two (of four) episodes in, but I'm really enjoying P'tit Quinquin. If you've seen Ma Loute from the same director, it's familiar stuff. Absurd, macabre, unexplained deadpan happenings in Ch'ti-land investigated by bumbling detectives, with suspicious children thrown in, in the guise of a murder-mystery. Sort of Lynch-Haneke-Wes Anderson. Maybe spoiled by some (presumably deliberately) hammy acting (Binoche was pure gammon in Ma Loute).

There's a great comic set-piece at the end of ep 1 at a funeral that had me giggling.

chveik

There's always Lars von Trier's The Kingdom, it's wonderful (there's only 2 seasons unfortunately).

Noonling

I just rewatched series 1 of Mossad 101. God it's great, the main character (Yona) has just the perfect smug, punchable face and the trainees are such darlings.

Started watching series 2 and I'm disappointed that it seems to have dropped most of the comic elements and just gone for a spy thriller with a partially new cast that I'm not sure about.

Sebastian Cobb

A Very Secret Service is a fantastic French cold war comedy/drama with exceedingly good period dressing and a fantastic level of self-awareness. It's one of the best things I've seen.

Comrade Detective is an amazon prime version trying to capture that by using Romanian actors and dubbing to achieve the same thing, it's a grittier drama but I do have a grim feeling it's exploitative, it's well made so not 'laugh at the the foreigner', more that big companies can make a satirical series like this and hire good foreign actors in an almost 'dance monkey dance' way.

Bazooka

There was a thread, but please go watch Gomorra if you want an Italian fix, its also brilliant.

Ja'moke

Quote from: shh on July 24, 2018, 10:21:35 PM
I'm only two (of four) episodes in, but I'm really enjoying P'tit Quinquin. If you've seen Ma Loute from the same director, it's familiar stuff. Absurd, macabre, unexplained deadpan happenings in Ch'ti-land investigated by bumbling detectives, with suspicious children thrown in, in the guise of a murder-mystery. Sort of Lynch-Haneke-Wes Anderson. Maybe spoiled by some (presumably deliberately) hammy acting (Binoche was pure gammon in Ma Loute).

There's a great comic set-piece at the end of ep 1 at a funeral that had me giggling.

Is this on Netflix?

rasta-spouse

Anyone vouch for Sacred Games? I'm in two minds about watching it as I've been burned by Netflix originals before.

Ja'moke

Might as well use this thread to once again plug the greatest game show ever created (and where my avatar comes from), South Korea's "The Genius," kindly uploaded and subtitled here: http://bxrme.tumblr.com/post/69603754319/the-genius-1-2-subbed

Brilliant casting, a really fun editing style, best soundtrack, and a game show not afraid to promote intelligence.

Spiteface

Kamen Rider.

Take your pick which one, there's more than 45 years' worth of shows and films. But where else are you gonna get STARFISH HITLER?



Noonling

I don't know if there's a more recent or appropriate thread - I know Barry likes seperate threads for stuff but its tricky when no one else is watching stuff.

I just finished watching Perfume (the TV series) on Netflix - its inspired by the book, but set in the modern day and about a series of murders that seem to revolve around a group of friends. I thought it was good and loved the ending, though I did get a little sick of the main police detective constantly having watery eyes because she has so many EMOTIONS. Also, for a series about women being brutally murdered for their scent it manages to be surprisingly depressing.

Im just about to start on Osmosis, but I've got a bunch of other stuff on my list I should possibly try - Quicksand, 1983, The Forest, Stranger, Nobel, The Protector... Anyone seen them and can recommend whether to watch or avoid?

Dex Sawash

I have been meaning to look for some more Danish shows to watch, I liked Dicte on Netflix despite it having some heavy-handed anti-abortion themes. It is possible that subtitles may cover up a lot of bad scripts and bad acting. Mostly just like listening to people speak Danish or whatever language it is they use. (#cancelled)

Chollis

Quote from: Bazooka on July 28, 2018, 01:40:36 AM
There was a thread, but please go watch Gomorra if you want an Italian fix, its also brilliant.

sponk

Why has nobody mentioned Dekalog yet?