La forêt

A satisfying binge. I highly recommend watching this while NOT folding the laundry. That way you can be present for the entire story and enjoy the excellent acting and well-told, suspenseful murder mystery.

What another reviewer identifies as "tropes" were not actually dramatized as such -- the female detective did not get more involved or emotional than you would expect for someone searching for her missing daughter (filmmakers were actually quite restrained in how they presented this). Also, there weren't any of the stereotypical ego clashes between the outsider and the insiders on the police force. The new captain did indeed recently move to town and only the first episode depicted the awkwardness of this dynamic, and what was shown would be natural to this plot detail. It wasn't an ongoing part of the story in the way it would be on a prime time American drama. In fact, I enjoyed that there wasn't any development of the stereotypical "clash" between the new captain and his staff (that would have been a trope).

I would say this show is on par with Broadchurch in terms of acting and production quality but with a slightly more simplistic and traditional story and resolution. Most implausibilities had decent explanations and probably more so than do the typical crime drama. The acting and unfolding of the story were nuanced, and restraint was used with plot details that could have become cliche.

I especially enjoyed the story's two intertwined layers - the search for the missing girls and the teacher's search for her identity.

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.

I thought this was really well done. Every one of the 6 episodes contained some kind of revelation and cliffhanger that kept me going onto the next one. I binged watched this series in about 3 days and really enjoyed it. Interesting characters and a plot that kept you guessing. Highly recommended.

This is a slow burner of a police procedural. But it's a pleasant surprise that this series is more than this.

The viewer has to be patient at the slow pace as Capt. Decker (Samuel Labarthe) and Virginie Musso pursue leads cautiously in the village that will lead to the killer.

Films, sometimes, have a viewers' pet peeve. In this film, one such character exists. And this is Virginie. There's no back story of Maya and Virginie that justifies why Virginie is so hysterical and frantic about the disappearance of Maya. It's understandable that mothers will react this way but her portrayal as the grieving, disconsolate mother is not convincing; it comes across as contrived.

This is also Eve Mendel's story. We root for her as she helps the police in their investigation, and when an important information about her past surfaces. The viewer hopes that her story will really have a happy ending.

Cinematography is splendid. The panoramic views of the wide expanse of the Ardennes are great. The locale (Montfaucon) is a quaint little town with a lovely river.

I binged this series in one night because I desperately needed a break from reality. For this purpose, it's a very good pick , provided you like beautifully-shot forest scenes and don't mind the borderline insane plot that seems to come with many French miniseries productions. It's got a very nice soundtrack, it's a wild ride overall and it makes a good effort to connect all the loose ends in its last episode, with touching symbolism thrown in as a garnish....What more could one want?