13 commandements

Yes Yes Yes scani noir from Belgium. Better than "7" cos Brad Pitt isnt in it. Has the obvious flaws that all TV/Film police dramas have but you can get over them. Well worth the time to watch. Just loved Vicky and her 'Trumpy'. Anther winner from our Continental friends even the cold seems to seep through the TV!!!

This thirteen part Belgian crime thriller sees the police searching for an attacker who has been targeting people based on the Ten Commandments; each attack is accompanied by the appropriate commandment. While the attacks are brutal they are not fatal... that of course would break the commandment against killing. The attacker, dubbed 'Mozes' gains some sympathy amongst those who believe society has moved too far from Christian Ideals. The investigation is led by Peter Devriendt and his new partner Vicky Degraeve; each of whom have their own problems. Peter's daughter seems to be somewhat off the rails and Vicky's mother is in hospital with no chance of recovery following a car accident some time before. As the investigation progresses there are inevitably some false leads and Vicky finds herself in real danger.

Early on it looks as if this may be a Belgian 'Seven' but beyond the religious inspiration there are key differences; most notably that Mozes isn't a killer; something that makes a refreshing change amongst all the serial killer stories... that isn't to say he isn't brutal; his victims aren't going to fully recover. Towards the end things do get a bit melodramatic and there is a twist that some may feel goes too far. While some characters feel that Mozes's actions are justified the series makes it fairly clear that the creators don't expect viewers to sympathise with him too. The cast does a fine job with Dirk van Dijck and Marie Vinck impressing as Peter and Vicky; there is also in impressive supporting cast. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to anybody wanting a fairly dark crime drama.

These comments are based on watching the series in Dutch with English subtitles.

The story has its merit. Unfortunately the writers lose control after a while. Instead of being more gripping, the story just gets less believable. A pity, because the actors are doing a great job and the direction is spot on.

Can't believe all the negative reviews saying the writing is bad or the plot is illogical or unbelievable. Common people, it's fiction. Belgian fiction. With rather good direction, cinematography. Great grading and coloring creating a film noir like atmosphere. And the acting is good with hardly a false beat. The story could've been more condensed. After an okay mid part, the ending pays off. Just see for yourself.

I enjoyed this noir crime series because they were finely produced. The locations, the dark theme scenes in line with the subject, the outstanding performance of Mr Van Dijck, everything looked natural including the surprising turn of events, secondary murky characters and places. I got trapped and gobbled up the 13 chapters. It gets better on the last three episodes. I could anticipate the ending but no the last minute. Smart script.