La trêve

Will "The Break" remind you of "Twin Peaks"? Yep. How about "Broadchurch" and "True Detective," or the French show "Les Revenants"? Check, and check (and the show's creators have even admitted as much). Okay, now that we've gotten what a bunch of other reviews and interviews have already noted (mostly on French websites), let's get to the execution of the show, and why it's so darn good. And yes, it is really good - in spite of reminding you of Lots of Things That Have Come Before It.

The plot: as stated above, there is a soccer player who turns up dead. A brooding detective who is new to town (for reasons that become increasingly clear as the story unfolds) is the chief investigator on the case. That's all I can really say without spoiling anything - and you really have to know as little as possible about this show to enjoy it to the fullest extent.

The execution: This is an excellent sort of whodunit, complete with Log Lady-type characters, dark and creepy woods, and lots of other goings-on that are of a highly suspicious nature (David Lynch is chuckling somewhere, that's for sure). I was hooked after one episode - and I mean, hooked. As in, I binged all of these in two days. This surprised me, as I went in having read a couple of lukewarm reviews that implied it might be too similar to the above-referenced shows; it's not. Rest assured that the Belgians have taken some of the greatest elements of these shows and really mixed them into something altogether new and incredibly fun to watch.

The story will keep you guessing; the characters are definitely not entirely what they seem, and each episode does one of those super- fun cliffhangers that has you immediately pressing "play the next episode." It's definitely less "produced-looking" and the small townsfolk really look like - well, small townsfolk. Heiderfeld does seem like the kind of place where things are bubbling just underneath the surface. It's a heck of a fun ride and I can't wait for Season Two!

FYI for those who are parents, or those who might be squeamish - it's a bit gory (dead bodies up close; lots of blood; scary visions), and as it's a European show, there are a lot of nudity and sex. Fair warning.

The similarities are unavoidable. A recently disgraced big-city cop moves to a small town just in time to lead an investigation in a rare murder. With a resentful less-experienced partner he uncovers a lot of uncomfortable secrets about a community in which anyone can be a suspect. But a show doesn't have to be wholly original to be good. Just look at the two separate high-quality adaptations of the Danish series "The Bridge". Besides all a mystery series has to deliver is: an identifiable victim, plenty of suspects, and multiple twists. On these three fronts "La Treve" fully succeeds. Not to mention it does plenty to distinguish itself from that similar BBC series. Surprisingly it has an even darker view of humanity. As the unstable detective pessimistically asserts to his underling "Anyone is capable of murder". A point that is driven home hauntingly by beginning nearly every episode with a different character's nightmare of how they might be involved. Not to mention the fact that the entire series is told in retrospective from a mental hospital, where the main character has found himself following the events of the story. Yoan Peeters was a detective on the rise in Brussels until he got four members of his squad killed when he ordered them into a drug den without waiting for back-up. Like everything else in this series it is much more complicated than it first appears. But with that cloud hanging over his head he returns to his childhood home of Heiderfeld, with his sullen daughter who missed the big city even before she left. He hasn't even reported to work yet when the overwhelmed young detective Sebastian Drummer conscripts him into helping with a just discovered dead body. Most of the force has never dealt with such a situation and they need help. This series makes a better case than most crime shows about how resources and finances dictate the level of police-work. When it looks like this was a suicide the Chief cancels an autopsy, not because he's trying to cover anything up, but because the town can't afford it. The unspoken villain of the series is poverty. Poor economics has forced many in this simple town to succumb to various forms of corruption. The only dependable income for some residents seems to come from strong-arming farmers to sell for the new electric dam or throwing a soccer match to benefit mob gamblers. The latter of which may have contributed to the murder of the preeminent defender of the local club. Seen only in video messages to his family and the aforementioned dream sequences his name was Driss Asani, a drafted prospect from Africa; and as you may have guessed his death doesn't stay ruled a suicide. Yoann's detective acumen finds more than enough evidence of homicide and even more possible suspects. For a quiet rural community it certainly has more than it's share of decidedly modern eccentrics. Peeling away the placid exterior of the community certainly reveals a lot of shady characters that are not eager to share their secrets with the police. But does having something to hide automatically make someone a murderer, as the amphetamine-fueled Yoann too often accuses. Or are they all guilty of feeding a growing monster of corruption that would eventually require a human sacrifice for their collective sins. Yoann's investigation creates much more damage than it ever does justice. It leaves no one unscathed, especially himself. But this unflinching look at the desperate people created by desperate times does prove that his cynical observation was correct. Anyone is capable of murder.

I was fortunate to stumble onto this gem via Canadian Netflix, and it was the intense acting talent of protagonist Yoann Peeters (Yoann Blanc) and the family drama subplots - with Yoann's daughter, Camille (Sophie Breyer)) and her immensely watchable friend Zoe Fischer (Sophie Marechal) - that kept me interested in the first season, but Season 2 was an entirely different ballgame. AMAZING. Episode upon episode, Season 2 was like a snake in the grass: I just couldn't predict which way it would turn, and I freaking loved that, of course. The diverse cast and high degree of potential perps ... the extraordinary acting ... the wild party scene Camille's much older artist girlfriend was involved in ... the forest landscapes ... Joann's disintegrating mental health ... contrasting social classes (great portrayal of Dany's trashy home life, with special kudos to Sophia Leboutte, who played his mother, and Noemie Schmidt, who played sister-in-law Sophie Bastin - I believed in these female characters 100%) ... and a main character with what appeared to be honest-to-goodness psoriasis! Great call, too, on using Balthazar songs for the openings. (You can be sure a lot of people "Shazam" those moody theme songs to find who who's behind them).

A few questions though. I'm not sure why there were so many comic(relief) characters; it's over the top (ie: the IT guy, and goofy Tino, and Yoann's hokey/spooky neighbours), and unnecessary. Yeah, I get it that the overall tone is dark, but audiences, methinks, can handle that. Also I got a little weary of Yoann's excessive cold-water-splashing on the face. Really? That often? And in Season 1, does rookie cop character Sebastian Drummer (Guillaume Kerbusch) really need to scowl that much? (After Season 1, all I could think of was how relieved I was I wouldn't have to see that scowl again ...)

Because this was the opposite of most of what I see out of the US, ie: predictable right down to the final words - oh god, Bird Box - and the cast was SO strong, I have to give it a 10.

I enjoyed the series thoroughly, completeing it within a few days. I loved all the dark forest shots, some of the creepy dreams, the somewhat satisfying twists where justice is served. Lots of good characters and good plotlines, but Peeters gets to be exhausting and it doesn't feel like the people who are supposed to keep him in check but don't ever get checked for it. I loved Driss' character. I loved how fully fleshed out he was, how present in each episode rather than becoming the dead black guy. The very final twist is my only disappointment - didn't make sense, served too abruptly...

My wife and I really liked the series for a while, but it went down hill in the second half of the season. The lead detective's behavior became so unstable and unprofessional that it wouldn't have been tolerated. Plus, the ending was rushed and not very believable. We would have given it an 8.0, but dropped it to a 7.0 as the season drew to an end.