Tales from the Loop

The retro-futuristic and immeasurably cozy paintings of Simon Stålenhag have been given life by Amazon Prime. Thanks to my dad, who obtained the Tales from the Loop artbook (org. title Ur Varselklotet) when it was brand new (he may even have donated to its crowdfunding campaign), I've had a good look into Stålenhag's dreamlike alternate past before.

My brother once referred to Stålenhag's peculiar art style as "Sweden punk", where we'll scan our eyeballs over familiar rural environments until, suddenly, some sort of technological behemoth appears. It may be a strange, defunct machine (that nevertheless looks as if Volvo or Stiga could realistically design it) next to a quaint Scandinavian meadow, or a vast spacecraft hovering over a dimly lit torp in the December twilight.

Amazon brings all of this to life with an anthology, each episode nonetheless set in the same continuity, directed by the likes of Andrew Stanton and Jodie Foster (a good choice after her work on Black Mirror) and scored in part by Philip Glass - his haunting, repetitive-but-beautiful tunes as distinctive as ever. The cast includes Jonathan Pryce and Rebecca Hall, who put it best when she said in an interview that the characters genuinely seem to inhabit a universe larger than themselves. The landscape around them clearly has history, even when it isn't expositorily stated.

On that note, the "retro" part of the retro-futurism is also in the characters, including young children who are often more astute than the adults - it shares this with Stranger Things, another nostalgic streaming-original, but I currently think Tales from the Loop is better, partly because of how farcical Things has gotten. Early on, Loretta (Abby Ryder Fortson) and Cole (Duncan Joiner) are curious of the mysteries surrounding The Loop, a scientific facility in their area that seems to dabble in the unnatural.

One of the problems I had with the series is that, possibly due to the episodic structure, certain big revelations seem to come quite early in the show's run. Let me elaborate: In the very first episode, we learn something shocking about two of the main characters, akin to one of the most existentially devastating twists in the Netflix masterpiece Dark, but since we don't yet know these people that well, it isn't as impactful as it could have been. Instead, the second episode moves on to a different (somewhat better-acted) story involving the effects of The Loop, starring a tertiary character from the prior story.

However, accepting the show and the format for what it is, 'tis certainly a charming expedition into the mind of Stålenhag. The book and the artwork are faithfully adapted (including the way the characters are cast, then costumed and groomed) by head writer and developer Nathaniel Halpern, but I gather Stålenhag himself was heavily involved (complete with an on-screen cameo). He even submitted a title card animation, pictured above, "as a suggestion" and they wound up using it.

It just warms my hollow ribcage when an artist gets to realize their vision in this manner, aided by people who demonstrably give a damn. Tales from the Loop, not unlike the Netflix series Love, Death + Robots, is one of those shows that truly prove what a safe space the streaming world is for auteurs, enabled to enrich us with something new instead of sticking to a marketable studio-imposed formula.

If shows like these become successful enough, ginormous studios may learn that providing something new and original is the way to go (people sometimes argue that recent Lucasfilm and Marvel movies do represent an artist's vision, hence their controversy compared to other "factory-made" sequels, but I remain skeptical that Disney would truly allow freedom, or deem controversy as anything other than useful PR). I will certainly do my part and tell you this much: please check out Tales from the Loop. It's a visually inventive and fun watch that touches on the "larger" life questions that sci-fi concepts ought to bring. The dialogue itself can be a bit obvious and some stories may be less intriguing than others, but no matter.

Not many times in my life I've felt compelled to binge watch a series but this got me. . . A combination of beautiful cinematography, great character study and clever story lines make for a truly wonderful and complete series. The fact that it's about the human interactions and relationships and not all about the weird and wonderful tech laying about just adds to it for me. So many series are in your face with the CGI and effects they forget about telling us anything. The subtleness only ads to the whole feel of this superb show. Take time to slow down a bit and enjoy something that makes you think.

This, I'm sure, is the stuff of dreams to the "serious" sci-fi buff. The kind of thing they've been waiting their whole lives for. But be warned. The art house approach, the ponderous wringing of every drop of darkness from the tales, the dolorous minimalist soundtrack courtesy of Philip Glass, and the doom laden plots all contribute to weighty, even burdensome viewing at times. This is not the sort of thing you put on at the end of a riotous evening. Nor to be binge watched - it will spill your marbles and spark depressive spirals. And don't gift it to your significant other for a birthday or the like if you don't want weeks of angst as they try to work out what exactly you're trying to say. It's intelligent, meaningful and dark - maybe a little too so - well worth watching but make sure you're in the right mood, at the right time, and preferably in easy reach of your support structure!

A really thought provoking show. I didn't know what to think, by the end of episode three I was thinking is this show a bit sad but continued to watch and I'm glad I did.

Yes, it was a bit sad but also thought provoking. It made me consider how I'd feel if I could see my life, my daughters, my mom's at different stages and what I'd/we'd do differently. I think we all like to consider what we'd do differently if we could live our lives again. Every episode made me realise that there'd always be a negative consequence if I / we, did do things differently which I suppose brings peace to the things we consider mistakes.

I didn't expect Cole to become the lead role in the show nor did I expect how fond I became of his character. This show isn't really edge of your seat action but it's very good for your sole. There's some really beautiful music throughout the show too.

I really enjoyed this series. It's slow paced, yes, but it's tremendous solid too. And in an artistic way also very gripping and thrilling. And I loved the actors.

I salute the makers because they could have went the obvious road and give the audience the usual SciFi stuff they'd conditioned to expect from a show like this. But instead they choose to take us on a journey of some kind of meditation about what really matters in life. And this journey is not only beautiful shot, but offers some great ideas and unexpected turns too. Sometimes as a kind of side note and not as she focus of the show - but that is the whole point: don't get distracted by the things you might think life is worth living for, let the stars in the sky be the stars, don't miss in your life what is yet full of awe. And the show never preaches. It's always showing instead of pointing with the finger or shouting at us. You have to think about it to get it. But it isn't a far fetched deep secret either. Just go on the journey and let it sink in.

I guess if they had done it a bit more on the nose, the chance for a second season were better. But I'm glad they didn't - a show like this is nothing you get get to see often. But I sure hope they do another one anyway.