Gogol

I found this by accident on youtube. Look for Janson Media, they have a lot of great Russian/east euro films and series.

Gogol is an excellent kind of supernatural mystery series that has the ambience of Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow but much more bizarre and involved. Great acting, effects, cinematography, direction. Highly recommended.

I expected this to be a biography and instead was completely blown away with THE most captivating thing. If you like entrancingly gothic, supernatural epics, character-driven, and visually beautiful, this is all of that and more. The opening scene grabbed me and that was it. It takes you on such a journey. I am completely obsessed. The idea to place Gogol as a character in his stories is brilliant. They cast him perfectly. You can't help but love this character. Alexander Petrov is fantastic. And what happens is stunning, shocking really. The setting and costumes, the ideas and the characters are truly enchanting ! It is truly in my top 3 shows that I have ever watched, the other 2 being El Hipnotizidor and Penny Dreadful. I can't help but gush. I so hope they continue with it.

Amazingly Gothic and we got into it easily, despite the darned subtitles. Some of the period series / movies we've seen have a postcard picture feel - there's distance, no involvement, they're flat. Not with Gogol, but we were taken right into the historical settings; the Gothic feel and fabulous architecture. They're only asides to characterization, which really made the series watchable. Couldn't fault the story either, full of surprising twists and turns, never a dull moment.

Thoroughly enjoyed this series. In fact, I enjoyed it more the further on it got. I'd love there to have been a second season, but it doesn't look as though there is. (Despite the final episode appearing to offer a trailer for one). Yes, it's subtitled, but don't let that put you off. There is a wide range of characters revolving around the eponymous lead, most of whom are initially presented as 'local yokels', but soon become more than that. Indeed, some of them are quite surprisingly so. Gogol's fainting spells are at first a bit of a thing, but thankfully he's able to overcome them as the plot moves along. It is very gothic in mood, and with various different aspects coming to light it's difficult to know which are the red herrings. Friends become foes and vice versa, but not in a fast or flashy manner. Who is the killer? Is the child with a tail a witch? Why is the ghost following Gogol? Why are the killings repeating after 30 years? There are lots of questions that need answering, and it all helps to draw you on. There is a small amount of partial nudity, but it's not done gratuitously, it fits with the time and place. There is also some killing, head lopping, etc, but again, it goes with the territory, and is not overly gory. I knew nothing of this series prior to finding it on Amazon, and it didn't disappoint.

The 8 TV episodes or 3 connected movies of Gogol saga seem very similar to SLEEPY HOLLOW (1999) in style. However its story of murder, revenge, manipulation and love across two worlds bears resemblance more to A CHINESE GHOST STORY (1987). Just look at ACGS's front page image in IMDB and one may mistake it for being a poster of GOGOL (2017-2019).

As a whole GOGOL is well made and is interesting to behold. Unfortunately the latter part turns hasty and unconvincing. Of course this defect may be overlooked if there are following episodes or sequels, then we can judge accordingly. It's a pity that there aren't any. C'est la vie.