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Netflix: Babylon Berlin


Fuego

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Just started watching yesterday, and have seen 2.5 episodes. It is set in 1929 Berlin just before the rise of the Nazis, and follows the lives of a couple of people trying to make a living while dealing with the hardships and politics of that time, and some of the fallout of the first world war.

 

They capture the feel of the time well, and I haven't spotted any obvious anachronisms. I'm not sure I'd call it entertaining, but it is quite a good drama.

 

An odd thing for me, I was struck by how the trappings of the higher class look so antique and how thin the veneer was that covers up the most basic animalistic qualities of humans (which are not hardly covered up at all for the lower classes). I was also oddly struck by the concept of a vice squad and the tendency of gov't to regulate sex. I remember growing up in the 60s and how porn was just really beginning to become more public due to Playboy and the court cases Hefner fought. Even then it was very tame nudity.

 

 

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Hey there, Just in case someone is interested: This series is based on books by a  guy called Volker Kutscher. I read all of them and really liked them.

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  • 5 months later...

Just finished the first season and was impressed with the acting and feel of the show. The very last episode had some minor non-realistic stuff, but it was a good pull towards the next season and gave the first glimpse of uniformed Nazis/rabblerousers (there was intentional ambiguity with those who had been cast as Communists). Some very interesting characters and psychology.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/18/2018 at 2:55 PM, Fuego said:

Just finished the first season and was impressed with the acting and feel of the show. The very last episode had some minor non-realistic stuff, but it was a good pull towards the next season and gave the first glimpse of uniformed Nazis/rabblerousers (there was intentional ambiguity with those who had been cast as Communists). Some very interesting characters and psychology.

Hi there, Fuego,

 

Glad you liked it. Haven't watche it yet, as I liked the books so much. Planning to read the next one which just came out, I think.

What was unrealistic in your opinion? Btw, is there a lot of Berlin footage?

Happy New Year!

 

OTRR

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The unrealistic parts for me were the drowning scene. The detective wasn't a very physically fit man, so to be able to suddenly exert that much effort swimming and then to hold his breath long enough to stay under water AND provide useful air for the girl was impossible. The other part was the bullet through the train-car. That far away with a small caliber weapon probably wouldn't pierce the metal of a pressurized tanker-car.

 

There is some footage of a city, but not sure of the real location. The look and feel is quite good overall. It isn't a time that seems to be covered much in many films or series. The "normal city life" aspects made it far more interesting to me than covering the military yet again. I also liked how they brought in some early blues music.

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