Der Wald

This six part French series is set in a village in the Ardennes where a sixteen year old girl, Jennifer Lenoir, has gone missing. Leading the investigation is Captain Gaspard Deke, who arrived in the village the day Jennifer went missing. Soon afterwards two more girls vanish, including the adopted daughter of Lt Virginie Musso. Evidence suggests that Jennifer disappeared in the vast forest which surrounds the village. As the series progresses suspects and motives emerge and events occur which will have a profound effect on those involved. A second mystery is provided by a teacher whose true identity is unknown; she was found near the forest as a young child, with no memory of what had happened to her before that.

I found this to be a gripping mystery. The setting is fairly stunning and added to the atmosphere impressively; the forest surrounding the village created a sense of isolation. Having a newly transferred officer lead the investigation serves well to introduce the viewer to the location and its inhabitants as we learn about things as he does. The resolution is satisfying without being too obvious. There are plenty of tense moments, especially towards the end. The cast does a solid job bringing their characters to life. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of subtitled crime drama.

These comments are based on watching the series in French with English subtitles.

This series has faults but it kept me intrigued until the end. Unlike many Netflix-derived European series these days, this one has competent camera work, disciplined direction and a taut script. Sure, there's some fallible plot points and drawn-out scenes that could have been excised. The incompetent deputy ineptly played by Suzanne Clément almost derails the whole thing, causing me to burst out laughing at the wrong moments, negating the intended dramatic tension. Despite those drawbacks, the cast is solid, the story involving though perhaps far-flung at points. Worth a look even with its drawbacks. I enjoyed it and looked forward to each episode. I can't say that for many Netflix series these days.

I binge watched it so definitely keeps you engaged. The Broadchurch inspiration is telling unfortunately the writing is nowhere near it and the police captain is no David Tenant. The good part is some solid acting by the cast, excellent locations and the initial episodes do create the aura of mystery. The worst part is the characterisation of the cops. Literally every bit of evidence and finding is found by the French teacher Eve. The actress who played the lady cop was very good but the character deplorable. She always look dishevelled, in India you would get fired if you turned up that way. Every bit of evidence is shared with everyone in the village by her, doesn't listen to her boss, acts irrationally most of the time, messes up critical evidence, lets go of a key witness and worst part sits on a missing girl's case claiming its a prank. And her all out drive when its her own daughter is sickening, no objectivity as a cop. The captain cop plays really dull, the only bright characters are Eve , her father, Oceane's father and Oceane. And the motive for the murders ,after watching close to 6 hours doesn't get even 6 secs.You are left wondering why..

Occasionally, I like "mini-binge watching netflix" with my wife on the weekend. One of my gripes about most series is that they start strong but eventually the story line degenerates into a typical soap opera, the premise is lost, the series drags on and on, and the conclusion(if they ever get to one) is unsatisfactory.

That does NOT happen in the little gem.

This series is short enough that you can get the satisfaction of finishing it over a weekend. The story is really good with enough layers to keep things interesting, the acting/character development is great, and the very final scene/conclusion is good.

It's dubbed, (french language movie) but after one episode, you won't even notice it.

Well done.

No way would a Captain allow his lieutenant to scream at witnesses and act on her own without consulting him...even if it was her daughter missing. She should have been taken off the case immediately or it shouldn't have been her daughter that was missing. Otherwise, excellent drama, good pacing, slow revelations without stupid surprises. Great scenery, good music. A good show of what goes around comes around!