Bandits des bois

I first must say I watched this in the original language and subtitled. That precludes me from catching a lot of the subtext that only understanding the spoke dialect gives one. That aside: The production levels on this series is high. The weapons master - got it RIGHT. The costumes, and, I am no expert, seem to be RIGHT. Everyone who isn't the higher ups, are appropriately dirtier as you go down the social scale, but it seems to be in place. The set dressers, got it RIGHT. So, why bad reviews? Maybe because it wasn't action by the second, but, characters are developed, plot lines merge and separate. I enjoy these foreign productions,I am watching it on Netflix, who I am told have production facilities world wide and bring content we would not usually see. Worth while entertainment.

The story of Jan de Lichte is a beautiful piece of flemish television that shows their skill in writing a historical drama. A combination of great actors and a impressive set really had me engaged with the plot for the better half of the series. Costume design is on point. Characters are well written, though some I felt needed some more development along the way. The episodes are well structured.

However, all fairy tales must come to an end, and this one ended way to soon, regretfully before the actual finale. A sudden death occurs, and just when I thought these writers might actually have the guts to write a story with consequences, they retrace their steps. Characters that seemed carefully build up change unrecognisably in the span of a single episode. The ending feels rushed and undeserved, as if they were abruptly reminded this was the finale 15 minutes before the end.

All in all, deserves a watch. Don't get your hopes up for a statisfying finale though.

A little cynical I started watching the Flemish series 'De bende van Jan de Lichte' after the famous book by Louis Paul Boon, because book adaptations often disappoint. Especially with favorite books. Already at the start I was pleasantly surprised and my attention caught. The medieval atmosphere is impressive and realistic and the acting is great. Although the storyline sometimes deviates, the book is really honored in my mind. It is a dark 'rascal novel' as the book was intended. A real pleasure to immerse yourself for hours in the Middle Ages and not be dissapointed. A very low rating is not to be taken serious.

Jan de Lichte was a war veteran who turned bandit in mid-18th century Flanders (not 17th century like other reviewers point out). His story has been published several times before and this series marks the first modern and dedicated screenadaptation.

Acting is surprisingly solid and consistent. The production values are great. There are lots of details to make everything believable and the set pieces are truly beautiful at times,even though the forest scenes lack atmosphere, but that's inherent to the fact they are.. Well, forests. And de Lichte, like Robin Hood, operated mainly from the woods.

The series does a good job portraying 18th century society, during the last decades we came to know as the ancien regime. De Lichte's antagonist is a baljuw (bailiff) who battles against both the bandits and the moral decay in, and corruption amongst, the powers in charge of the area: the lower nobility, the mayor of a small town and the clergy.

Although the story seems to suffer from slowdowns in its pace and the cinematography is too bland and grey for my taste, this is truly one of the best series to come from the low countries in quite some time.

Defenitely worth the watch!

I really liked the storyline and the character development. It makes you question if it really was like that in 17th century Belgium.