Arcadia

This TV serles made headlines for its big budget, and proves you need more than money to make an interesting show. The story revolves around people's credit score. Not a very original idea, but could still be interesting if executed well. We see the lives of a family where the father gets sentenced for messing with his daughters credit score. He has to go and leave his family behind. Now we follow the lives of his wife and daughters. Not much happens next. The show is slow, very slow. The acting is poor and the dialogues are very dull. None of the characters are interesting or move you emotionally. The show depicts a dystopian future, but mostly because that future looks so boring and uninteresting.

This show was announced to be the most expensive Belgian show ever made (with a little help from our friends). Yet the acting is so appalling, so bad. The story is quiet alright, the actors are not unknown starting actors, so what the hell went wrong? Watching this show (in your native language - Dutch) is like watching a very poorly dubbed Spanish movie. There is no life in these characters, no emotions, no nothing.

But if you can muster the bad acting and horrible lines, please watch. Realise that that world is hopefully not our future, although we are silently moving into that direction.

And did we really need the Dutch ;-)

This is a well produced series... it is slow paced. It probably would have worked much better in an 8 million euro 3 hour film in stead of the 8 million euro 8 part series which it is now.... The sets are beautiful and believable. Lynn van Rooyen as Luz is excellent, I bet we will hear from her more in international productions.... the overall cast is quite good. As this first season ends on a cliffhanger, it means that for the viewer the ending is a bit disappointing.... loose strings are not getting tied for us, apparently we need to wait for more information about the who, the what and the why of Arcadia and the main forces pulling the strings in that society.... the storyline overall is quite okay although at points it becomes really too slow. As said, a 3 hour film probably would have given the whole production a bit more umpf.... Arcadia is still worth your while though, although a bit unsatisfying at times. It is very different from the British production Years and Years, which also is about a dystopian society, but within our current time. Years and Years though, is much more rooted in real people, real relationships and it has a real dynamic way of telling a real story with real ideas, real people.... here the ideas are a little bit more philosophical and the characters are more one- (and a half) dimensional.... Though, again: well produced, gorgeous sets and good actors... For season 2 they need to ask Russel T. Davies (the man who wrote Years and Years) for some feedback.

Must see because it raises many questions how to act or not to act in a dictatorial regime being chosing between family or obedience to the regime. Maybe a lot of you will say " seen that already" but I already saw a lot of films on this issue though this is different and shows well the personal struggle you make in different circumstances. The setting is dark and grey adding the right sphere for this series with a good music score. Very good acting and you feel involved to each character. I'm looking forward to seeing the next season because there was also a good cliffhanger at the end of the first season.

And this series has everything right. From architecture, safety nudging (deuren sluiten) marketing, even children's books (Lientje is een tientje) the tapistry of detail never stops. EVERYTHING is just right. This level of detail is what netflix and Hollywood completely lost and is only possible in indie or European production. There are no USoA viewers who can appreciate this as they judge video productions by their own narrow standards.

Acting is totally onpar and above. I'm dutch but never realised so much talent in Belgium (Vlamingen that is). A great world is created sometimses Tarkovskian, sometimes GATTACA or Blade Runner. I anticipate a British production of The Wall.