Rough Diamonds

The production values are fine, the storyline is interesting, but as usual, Netflix is lax about uploading details of the cast and episodes. Netflix must improve in this area. It seems that they have no one working for them who has any knowledge of actors who are not primarily known for English language based films or TV.

The 8th episode is streaming now and still, the cast is mostly still listed without any photos or details in the episode guide. Several actors are obviously rather accomplished people in the field of European productions, to judge by their performances, but there is nothing about them in the cast listings. Viewers are left in the dark in regard to work histories and images. To say that Netflix is lax in this area is an understatement.

This is obviously not to mention that there are still no synopses for the episodes at all, 8 episodes in. Netflix is becoming well known for this laxness.

Rough Diamonds is an exception to many of the recent Netflix originals. It is an excellent series, it is authentic, it has no drugs or explicit sex, and no foul language. Queenmaker was another great series with a clean ending; you don't have to wait for season 2. House of Cards, Money Heist, Delhi Crime, Queen's Gambit, Night Agent, and Marcella are good examples of what Netflix should focus on. In the past Netflix licensed excellent TV series like Revenge so that we could watch them without commercials. That was the biggest value proposition for us. Many of the recent originals are pretty bad, full of explicit sex, drugs, foul language with f and mf words. Many have actors who do not belong in the script but are there to satisfy diversity. We love the Korean, Northern European, some other foreign shows.

This series provides a nice insight into jewish culture and into the diamond industry in Antwerp. The dense atmosphere that goes with a relatively closed culture that has it's own rules and values, is well portrayed.

But these are probably the most interesting aspects of this series. The story itself is all over the place with no clear plot in sight. There's a constant back and forth between plans, their failures, the repairs, threats that come and go. Continuous fuss on who's loving who and why or why not. It gets irritating at some point.

Acting is poor (especially the actors playing their roles in the district attorney ofices) to mediocre. Somehow you keep hanging in there waiting for a new unexpected twist in the storyline, but it never comes. There's quite a few unlikable characters her of which the female district attorney stands out. For some of the characters it's more or less clear why they have to be unlikable, for the district attorney this is unclear. Her unlikeability really has no function other than stirring up things at the office without this being needed or essential for the story.

There's the suggestions of development of the characters, but also this does not seem to go anywhere. This series has onsets to all kinds of developments in the storyline but is hardly ever able to deliver.

I liked the scenery, the insight given into a culture. Definitely not bad, but all in all just too little to justify a high rating.

As Episode 1 of "Rough Diamonds" (2023 release from Belgium; 8 episodes ranging 47 to 55 min each) opens, an Orthodox-Jew in Antwerp, Belgium goes to his family's Diamant District office, and commits suicide. What drove him to this? In a parallel story, we are introduced to Noah, a brother of the deceased who left the family business and now comes back to Antwerp for his brother's funeral. As it turns out, the deceased brother was in deep trouble on several fronts... At this point we are 10 minutes into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: let me state upfront that I hail from Antwerp, Belgium myself (although now a longtime US resident), so curiosity got the better of me and I just had to check this out. I was surprised how solid this (Flemish) mini-series turned out to be. Episode 1 is a bit tentative as it lays the groundwork for many characters and correlating plot lines, but by Episode 2 it becomes clear what is going on. I'll just have to say it: this mini-series is reminiscent of "The Godfather", yes! The series brings us the ups and downs of an Orthodox Jewish family, as it fights for survival in the rough diamond cutting industry (Antwerp is the diamond capital of the world, with 80% of the world's rough diamond trading). Along the way we get a unique insider's perspective of the Hasidic Jewish community (more Orthodox Jews in Antwerp than anywhere else in West Europe), AND a great look at the city of Antwerp. I immediately recognized quite a few of the scenery (we lived not far from the Diamond District, and about half of our condo building's neighbors were Jewish (some of them Hasidic). If you are not familiar with Antwerp, I think you will be surprised to discover this world-class city. Please note that Netflix shows this as being in "Flemish (with subtitles)", but in fact there is a mix of Flemish, French, Yiddish and English being spoken throughout, reflecting the thoroughly international character of the city of Antwerp.

"Rough Diamonds" premiered on Netflix about a week ago, and I fell upon it as I was going through the "recently added" stuff. I watched the initial 4 episodes just last night, and I expect to see the remaining 4 episodes later this weekend. Being at the midway point of this mini-series, I am completely invested in the story line and I can't wait to see how it all plays out. If you are in the mood for a top-notch foreign crime drama set in the exotic world that is the diamond district in Antwerp, Belgium, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.

*UPDATE* I've now seen all 8 episodes, and this Flemish mini-series just got better and better as is went along, and I've upgraded my rating to 8 stars. There has been internet buzz about there being a second season, due to the general acclaim of this, but I'm not sure as this mini-series played out quite well and wrapped up the story lines. Of course that has never prevented other such similar stories to "creatively" find more life... We'll see.

The story and the acting are really good and convincing. I was especially moved by Marie Vinck, who plays Gila, and her chemistry with the equally talented Kevin Janssens.

Robby Cleiren (playing Eli Wolfson) and Ini Massez (playing Adina Glazer) were amazing. I really appreciated when Adina Glazer declared she is the first major female diamond trader in four generations in their community.

The series' atmosphere managed to describe dutifully the situation of the diamond industry in Antwerp as "not what it used to be", meaning that a large number of Jewish diamond manufacturers and traders have been replaced over the years by others.

My only criticism of Rough Diamonds is that Orthodox Jews in Antwerp usually do not speak with the local Antwerp accent.