Foreign television series have become increasingly popular in recent years, and in the midst of the American screenwriters' strike, their popularity is gaining even more momentum. TIFF is presenting eight series from around the world this year, which are lesser-known or not yet available for streaming in Romania but deserve an audience as large as the current trending titles. And not just any audience, but on the big screen!
Among the titles that could be seen in the past few days is "The Hospital and Its Ghosts: The Exodus" (The Kingdom Exodus), the third part of the cult horror trilogy directed by Lars von Trier. Inspired by David Lynch, von Trier revisits the characters 25 years later with even more humor and grotesque elements.
"Blackport" is another series that made waves last year in Iceland, exploring fishing and corruption. And there's the Lithuanian series "Troll Farm," about a corporate diva who sets up a troll farm, of all things, with good intentions.
Today, "The Architect" (Arhitecta), winner of a special mention in the newly inaugurated Berlinale Series section, takes us to a dystopian Oslo, where the city has become desolate due to unaffordable rents, drones walk the dogs, and you can't stay in public spaces for more than five minutes without paying. This four-episode mini-series, reminiscent of "Severance" and starring Eili Harboe, known from the latest season of HBO's hit show "Succession," is proof that great things come in small packages.
After a few hit-or-miss films, Xavier Dolan, who took Cannes by storm at the age of 19 with his debut film "I Killed My Mother," adapts Michel Marc Bouchard once again after "Tom at the Farm" in 2013. Returning to the form and style of the melodramas that made him famous, the mini-series "The Night Logan Woke Up" (Noaptea în care Logan s-a trezit) sees the enfant terrible of Canadian cinema reuniting for the sixth time with actress Anne Dorval for a story accompanied by the haunting music of Hans Zimmer.
It's incomprehensible how, after the success of "Babylon Berlin" and "Dark," the German sci-fi series "Souls" (Suflete) didn't become a hit. Three stories about reincarnation, time loops, and cults of the afterlife create an explosive mix of suspense. It's one of those series where you don't even have a chance to start the next episode by yourself because you feel compelled to hit play.
The grand winner at Series Mania, "The Actor" opens with one of the most intense (and amusing) scenes ever staged on the small screen. Excessively provocative, the series engages in a complex discourse that reflects to some extent the situation of artists in Iran who, due to an authoritarian regime, are left without ways to make a decent living from their own profession.
In the dark comedy "Good People", a genuine Belgian Fargo, Tom, a police officer, and Linda, the owner of a beauty salon, are both on the brink of bankruptcy. Caught between a rock and a hard place, the two try to make money through an insurance scam. Predictably, but still excitingly, problems arise. Sure, there's no snow, but the characters could easily emigrate to a film by the Coen brothers at any time.