La forêt

It was worth watching but not really super captivating. There were a number of good characters and interesting subplots, but Virginia - who is pretty much the main character - is the worst police officer in history and in any realistic scenario would have been thrown off the case and probably out of the force by her new boss within the first day.

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?

Occasionally, I like "mini-binge watching netflix" with my wife on the weekend. One of my gripes about most series is that they start strong but eventually the story line degenerates into a typical soap opera, the premise is lost, the series drags on and on, and the conclusion(if they ever get to one) is unsatisfactory.

That does NOT happen in the little gem.

This series is short enough that you can get the satisfaction of finishing it over a weekend. The story is really good with enough layers to keep things interesting, the acting/character development is great, and the very final scene/conclusion is good.

It's dubbed, (french language movie) but after one episode, you won't even notice it.

Well done.

No way would a Captain allow his lieutenant to scream at witnesses and act on her own without consulting him...even if it was her daughter missing. She should have been taken off the case immediately or it shouldn't have been her daughter that was missing. Otherwise, excellent drama, good pacing, slow revelations without stupid surprises. Great scenery, good music. A good show of what goes around comes around!