Chaque fois qu'on s'est aimés

... when this production works at all it's because of the actors... they're an odd-lot but combine to make an interesting 1st series... of course the two leads do most of all the heavy lifting, and for the most part they both do commendable work... it's not 'Normal-People' quality, yet an overall IMDb reviewer rating of six-something is about right

... the on-off-relationship comparison is an obvious one... it is in the writing where the main differences lay... Normal People is a much quieter-more-subtle work... here there's a lot more flash, but less substance... it's enjoyable viewing for a time, but can get tiresome as reviewers have pointed out... does there have to be a season two.. not as many would be rooting for one as if were NP.

I have just got through this Netflix series over the space of two days and I have to say I enjoyed it despite the fact that a lot of it didn't make a whole lot of sense but it is apparently 'based on a true story' so who am I to doubt the veracity of this tale?

It is about the on-off relationship of Julio and Irene over the course of twenty years, it starts off in 2004 with Irene who is new to Madrid as she leaves small town Castellon and her first love behind to get stuck into her film studies degree at university.

Fate takes a hand as she meets Argentinian Julio - as short as he is and a mix of a young Jeremy Kyle and a third rate boyband member - he seems to have a unique power of people wanting to have sex with him and all he has to do is take an item of clothing off and he is having sex with someone or someone wanting to have sex with him. Irene falls under the spell alongside everyone else who crosses his path and as they go home on the train about to have their first kiss, they get caught up in the 2004 Madrid Train Bombing - which they both survive but Irene loses sight in one eye.

The show then is about their complicated relationship, Julio's angst as an actor and as an irresistible heartthrob of a man which seems to about to upend his life as he begins his road to stardom, Irene who is dumped and ignored at will, she shares the story with the annoying gay friend and the fat best friend who seems to be the glue that holds the gang together.

The show goes to and forth between 2004 and 2022. Like I said, it doesn't make that much sense and that Julio can just turn up in a bar, take his shirt off and has sex with strangers ten minutes later starts becoming hard to believe after an episode or two. The co-protoganist - Irene is cute and bright but as daft and as selfish as Julio as she spends her time getting her heart broken, breaking hearts in return and getting messed about.

It's well acted and like I said, kept me watching until the end so I think 7/10 is a fair score but as long as you can put aside some of the unrealistic scenes then you will be able to enjoy it for what it is.

I watched all 8 episodes and it just spiraled downhill with each progressive show. While the actors are solid, the script and direction are amateurish, repetitive, and boring. Over the span of 20 years, the lead characters never grow, learn, or develop. We are suppose to relate to two people that are hopelessly self-destructive and toxic to one another through their own selfishness.

Their are two serious failures: Time Jumps - The series randomly flashes between 2004 and 2022, going from 20 year old college students to 40 year olds who lives have stagnated. This problem is there was no effort to make the actors look older. The 20 something actors look exactly that. The fact that, at 40, they are still in the same place in their lives is too much a stretch.

Mental Illness - The series never addresses it but it's clear the female lead suffers from several disorders. The male lead identifies with anxiety and depression. Making a show about their conditions while trying to form relationships would have been more interesting. It would have also solved several gaps and plot points that that exists thought out the series.

This isn't completely awful and somewhat engaging in the beginning, but it quickly fizzles and becomes repetitive and boring after a couple episodes. The entire series ends up being barely "average."

The show relies too much on a handful of "eye candy" to carry the entire series. The supporting cast is a complete polar opposite and quite uninteresting The plot is very simple and doesn't evolve, neither do any of the characters. Little effort was spent on the writing and on finding a suitable supporting cast.

The gratuitous nudity is welcome and makes the show bearable and easier to watch. But even the hookup scenes make little sense; the sex comes out of nowhere, is rushed and very superficial. While it may be fun to watch, you really don't feel anything! You can find more emotional depth in most porn.

The main characters are charismatic enough and do a decent job, but even they become tiresome over time due to bad writing and poor character development. Georgina's (female lead) character becomes downright annoying and her actions make little sense! It' feels like watching "Groundhog Day" ...she keeps making the same mistakes over and over again. The supporting cast is all over the place and it's difficult to take anything seriously. In the end, I didn't care about what happens to anyone.

Finally, the time jumps are poorly executed and completely ridiculous. The story begins in 2004 and jumps 18 years into the future; but characters look EXACTLY the same, with a slight hairstyle change and they use smartphones instead of flip phones. This huge time jump is completely unnecessary to the plot; the same could have been accomplished with a more realistic (believable) 5-6 year time jump. Plus, we are expected to believe that (after nearly two decades) the characters have ZERO growth and have exactly the same feelings, problems, emotions and issues (not to mention looks).

In summary; I regret spending (ie, wasting) my time on this.

The serie is kind of cute, but gets too repetitive and boring over the episodes. The time jumps in the serie are too fast and it is hard to get involved with the characters.

Besides that, it is a cute serie to let it playing in the background during doing something else.

In addition, the conversations in the series are just unreal and the way the script evolves makes no sense. I finished and did not get the sense of the history or why this serie was made. The acting from the main character ( Georgiana) was really good though.

To resume: cute and boring piece, not worth watching it for real.