Im Schatten der Mörder - Shadowplay

There's something about Berlin that seems to inspire writers, and this particular series reminds me of another( probably better) police series called Babylon Berlin, although it was set in another era.

The magic of this series lies in the unique way that postwar Berlin is presented. It is a fascinating mix of ruins and decrepitude, shown in stark relief by the way some inhabitants live, particularly the Americans.

Having said that, there are many plots and sub plots the main one being the terrible crimes committed daily on the streets by all nationalities. There is a bit too much going on, so following all the different threads is probably helped by using sub titles.

The brutal nature of the series is I think helped by the engaging leading man. Several people have been critical of him, but I think a really tough guy actor would have turned a lot of people off. Elsie is an engaging character, and Max's brother is a great study in psychopathic behaviour.

It's not an easy watch, but it is an interesting one if you like to see how Berlin became the important city it is today, then this series can only enhance that experience.

People saying that it shows 1 group as good or others as bad, have either not seen all the episodes, or they're biased to hell and back. The show depicts villains and heroes in every corner. British, Russian, American, German, French... Perhaps it is a sign of the times that we live in that people choose to see just one side, but I assure you that it hits in all directions. It also shows humanity and decency from all directions.

This show is grand. It has mystery, the violence is realistic and used to great effect, the characters are well written and the connection to real events has a unique spin in that it depicts the post-war time of Europe rather than WWII. The set design alone is worthy of all the praise possible. So is the use of actual British, French, American, Russian and German actors. It would've been easy to just stick a bunch of Swedish and English actors into it all and call it a day. But they didn't, because this show is so clearly a labour of love. The one thing that confuses me, and surely others, is why it's called different names depending on region. To me as a Swede it is called, The Defeated, to others it's called Shadowplay. It causes unnecessary confusion for viewers, but those that do watch it all the way through tend to give it positive ratings.

Give it a chance. It is the first show I watched in 2021, and it set a VERY high bar for any upcoming shows to reach.

Was surprised to see so many negative reviews and low score so had to leave my thoughts here.

I though this series was very good. In every aspect.

Things that really stood out to me compared to other series:

• amazing opening credits that set the perfect post war film noir vibe

• insane set design, very rich, dense and real. It really felt like huge city that was recently destroyed. I can only think of the eye for detail and money that went into this. Also the use of real explosions and real buildings really amazed me multiple times

• Showing the horror and horrible things people did during and after the war without holding back. There is some serious f'up things that happen in this series but I think it's only fair to show these cruelties in a post war series. If this was a netflix series I'm sure it would've been way softer and not so real.

• Excellent acting. Loved all the actors, German and American. Also loved that they spoke German a lot. All the storylines of each character is really gripping. With the right ise of flashbacks at perfect timings.

• Very well written. The story almost felt like a theatre play in a good way. Small additions to the story like the testimony scenes of the characters with the white light where they talk about something very personal were a beautiful addition and made the story that much denser and more believable

And so much more! I really recommend this series. You can see a lot of work and thought went into every aspect of this. I see a lot of critique of being not historically accurate but I have to disagree. They show the map of Berlin a lot and try to clearly show the different occupied areas and the problems that come with it. Also the upcomming cold war between Russia and America plays a big role in the dynamics of the characters towards the end.

Give this non-Netflix series some support! Would love to see a second season.

Ended up quite contrived and I think some of the actors got tired of their roles especially the star. Also had so many story lines I kind of lost track of what was happening. I'm assuming there will be more "Nazi Hunters go to Rome". I'll probably watch but it could have been so much better had the story been more focused.

In response to KkonaW's review about Soviet brutality after the war, I think it's the opposite. The brutality of Soviet is not exaggerated. The brutality of Soviet soldiers is largely overlooked. Japan occupied northeast China for over 30 years but it was the Soviet army that exerted brutal force there - rape and robbery were just their standard practice. But the Chinese Communist Party just looked the other way.

Remember what they did to the Polish resistance? Statin tricked them. Then the Soviet arrested them sent them to Siberia.

It's not stereotyping. It's the reality.

About the show itself, the story of the main character felt very faky. The love story with Claire was really puzzling. His attitude towards Claire was really hard to understand the presumptuous.

The rest of the show was overall good.