Babylon Berlin (2017)

Set in Germany's Weimar Republic in the late 1920s Babylon Berlin is a brilliant production, a welcome surprise for American television. The sets are fantastic and the actors are brilliant. Now it is excellently dubbed in English, and it is dubbed so well I thought at first it was filmed in English to begin with. I don't know what the budget is for this series, but I am very impressed with this show.

Liv Lisa Fries plays Charlotte Ritter, a plucky young lady working odd jobs, including piece work for the police department, to support her extended family. She is plucky, smart, and willing to do whatever she can to provide for her little sister, elderly mother and grandfather (and elderly sister and her deadbeat husband). Volcher Bruch plays Detective Gereon Rath from Cologne, on special assignment in Berlin. Slowly we discern, over the first several episodes what that assignment is, and later how it relates to a threat to the German government.

Germany was wracked with unbelievable poverty and runaway inflation during this time period. There was a huge contrast between those who still have wealth and the majority of the people. We see this as hoards of young ladies daily begged for short term clerical jobs, or any kind of work. Many turned to prostitution to survive. Not surprisingly the communists took advantage of these conditions to recruit people to their cause, and we see this activity in Berlin.

I am very impressed with this show. I hope it continues for many more seasons.

An atmosphere of German 20's chic permeates Babylon Berlin. Its a detective tale at its heart that initially captures the vibe of a decade that celebrated a newfound carefree freedom. A freedom that was not repeated until the 1960's.

There's a real sense of flamboyance and decadence, that's colourful., celebratory and sexually promiscuous. Overlapping this is a delicately constructed story line that mixes a detective tale, with evolving political intrigue and cultism/militarism. The latter the earliest murmurs of an inflexible, embryonic nationalism, which will usher in an era of Nazism, which, in many respects, is very much, at odds, with 1920's Berlin.

Rounding out this series is well crafted narrative, sensational sets and deeply human characterisations. The key protagonists in Babylon Berlin are flawed. There are no hero's, simply people going about their lives. This series does not shy away from the confusion and mess that make up much of peoples lives. It embraces it, in a simple, honest way, that makes this series utterly immersive.

There are two versions of this series I'm aware of. One is dubbed and the other uses subs. My advice go for the subs version. Somehow something of the essence of the series is lost with the rather flat, voice overs.

The latest season in the series, four, is set at the beginning of the 1930's, heading into a decade of economic and social decline and the emergence of Nazi-ism.

In summary, a brilliant example of what exceptional writing, directing and acting can accomplish. Not to mention being the most expensive series ever produced in Germany, when it was released.