Der Basar des Schicksals

As an intermediate French student, it's really difficult to find interesting content that is easy enough to understand: This series is perfect. Watch it in the original French with French subtitles turned on (happily an option with Netflix). The speech is fairly clear, not too fast and not heavily accented.

The beautiful costumes, set design and cinematography in this historical drama make up for the fairly predictable plot and uninspired acting. Compared to the mindless dialogues contained in most French language courses, this is a truly entertaining step up.

The first episode had such an effect on me. Once the fire starts I couldn't look away. It's terrifying and you can sense their fear. The fact that this really happened is so sad. Some scenes are extremely hard to watch, but it's well done. The men are infuriating, especially those at the charity bizarre!

Here's the deal: I watched the 1st episode and thought it was terrible EXCEPT for the cinematography. It's French and dubbed in English... TERRIBLE ENGLISH! So, I went to my old standby, IMDbTV, to check the reviews, as I often do. I saw one review in particular that insisted it must be watched with the original French speaking actors' voices and subtitled in English (for me). This review stated that the English dubbing is so terrible and hokey that it has a terrible effect on the performances and story line. Well, I went back and did this for the 2nd episode and could not stop watching from that moment on! WHAT A HUGE IMPROVEMENT! This is a great binge-worthy show and I fell in love (or hate where appropriate) with the actors. This is well written, superbly acted and filmed beautifully. After watching it this way for a few minutes, I was completely immersed. Watch it the right way and you'll thoroughly enjoy it!

A very entertaining series with three women leading the way, with, of course, the usual men-and occasional woman- getting in the way. Do not confuse the story with the real fire of history, or any of the characters with real people. The plot devices are soapy but most of them work due to the great acting, script and cinematography.

The one plot line that just doesn't work because it's so transparently bad is the one with the woman whose face is partially burned but hardly enough to disfigure her or disguise her. Her use of a thin see through veil is a joke, and she should have been given a mask, but I'm guessing that the actress and the Director didn't want her hidden from us. So we're to believe "they" can't recognize her while we can. Voila!

I watched this because my favourite French actress, Audrey Fleurot stars in it and she's magnificent as the tormented flame haired heroine Adrienne. However, all the cast are fantastic, the period detail and costuming excellent and the horrific fire scene in the first episode, which happens in real time, devastating, upsetting and thrilling all at once. The story is a fin de ciecle tale of the rich and the poor set in Paris and filmed in some the most beautiful houses I have ever seen on film. The story is a "page turner", well paced, gripping and with characters you care about. I wanted all the women whose stories are told after the dreadful fire, to have happy endings. If you are looking for a French "Downton Abbey" this may be a bit gory and there are a few tasteful sex scenes although minimal nudity. The 18 certificate is presumably for the injury detail after the inferno, which is pretty grim. I watched the whole 8 episodes in two sittings. Recommended for anyone who likes bodice ripping historical drama although this series did have a feminist twist, most of the men either being weak or hissably villainous! Overall, extremely good Gallic drama with very high production values. 9 out of 10.