Marseille

Just finished (binge)watching Marseille. It's an old fashioned but well made series with a simple straight forward storyline without any sidelines. There are some sex scenes but nothing explicit and they all serve the story (read one review that stated the series was oozing sex but that is nonsense). It's mostly about betrayal and changing loyalties in a small group of people centred around a mayor election in Marseille. The plot is very predictable and does not have surprises, you can see developments coming long before they happen. For a 8 part series the cast is very limited but good, acting is OK but in several parts I was not impressed. It's a Netflix series that will not win any prizes, they made better. Marseille is an interesting town, full of contradictions and a boiling pot full of crime and problems on one hand and promise onthe other side. Have the feeling there was more to be made out of this.

Gerard Depardieu played his role so good..you can tell he's a veteran actor..as well he made nice duo with Benoit Magimel ( Lucas Barres ) The series is entertaining and not boring at all.. I am sure if Netflix continue the series it will work out especially that they learned a lot from season 1 and 2

As an American of European descent I loved these series. All lead actors put out great performances. Depardieu didn't disappoint. May be french audience is giving it poor ratings, but as someone who doesn't speak or understands French, I loved it. I always watch foreign movies, including this one, in original language with English subtitles. I also loved Borgen, the Danish political drama series. Well done, both Marseille and Borgen.

After House of Cards I hoped to enjoy a similar show in European setting this time. Depardieu with all the cast perform very well, but the script in general is rather flat. The behavior of major protagonists is illogical at times as if Netflix was very much in a hurry to release season one in 2016.

It would have been a very decent season if the script writers had studied better the psychological side of main protagonists.

Wrapping up: music is great, photo shooting pleasant to watch, location also fantastic, nonetheless it is far from West Wing or House of Cards milieu.

Great show. Triste pour la France. If the writers/producers or the people in charge of the translation are reading, please contact me. I would very much enjoy giving your translators French lessons. This show is urban. This show is social. It is also very political. Proper translation is in order to convey the message and honor the writers. Too often do we see TV shows suffer from poor conduit. It has nothing to do with opinions on any of the subjects displayed in the show itself. Simply to honor both languages. The cultural effect might suffer. the slangs, idioms, and social language is quite simple to fix. Language carry the weight of social and cultural change.