Les Fleurs sauvages

The show is better than the book. That's something I say rarely, but it's my honest opinion. The beginning of both book and show are breathtaking, but fall apart mid way through. After fumbling a time-jump so badly it nearly lead me to quit watching, the show writers take the pig's ear that is the 2nd half of the novel and make it look like a silk purse.

While the show's transition from young child to young adult Alice isn't particularly well done, it's far better than the book's. After the abrupt book transition to Alice as a young woman the story goes to pieces. I understand that both show and book are character-driven (if you're looking for a fast-moving suspense or action drama, don't bother with this show) but in the book the characters stop developing in any way after the time jump. The show stumbles for an episode or so then picks up the threads the book author dropped and do their best to weave both the character and plot arcs into a coherent and compelling narrative.

The soundtrack is fantastic if you like otherworldly modern indie music. The acting and scenery are very good. If you enjoy a bleak, slow-burning character study that blossoms in sparse sunlight, then this Australian drama is worth a look.

A little slow in a few places, which gets an 8 from me, but one can almost overlook that when the good stuff starts happening.

A word of warning. There are 7 episodes. As of tonight August 25, only 6 have played on Amazon Prime. Prime doesn't tell you there are 7.. If you haven't started yet I suggest you wait until the 31st and binge all 7 because number 6 is a real cliffhanger.

I was looking for something that wasn't cookie cutter detective mysteries and was hooked by Prime's description: "After losing her parents to a mysterious fire, nine-year-old Alice Hart is raised by her grandmother June on a flower farm where she learns there are secrets within secrets. But years on, an unearthed betrayal sees Alice forced to face her past."

Sounded like one of those gothic mysteries in the tradition of Du Maurier's Rebecca and Bronte's Jane Eyre. Well, it sorta is, but with modern issues.

The acting is great, the cast superb, the scenery gorgeous, and the story line disturbing, but necessary.

Sigourney Weaver plays against type in her character June Hart, a manipulative, controlling matriarch, who unsympathetically tries to hold her "family" together, often to their detriment.

I'm writing generalities. Others have been more specific.

See it.

This series has me crying like a baby for almost every episode, but honestly, it's a really good cry. So beautifully acted and the cinematography is stunning.

Life is messy. People are messy and flawed and this series hits on life and people in a way that not many can. Yes it does center around some things that some people don't want to acknowledge but, this is a part of many peoples lives.

If anyone has ever experienced abuse before, especially as a child you will find a little bit of your story in this series. I don't find it to be bad or "triggering" though. It's done so realistically & beautifully that it really kind of reaches out to that inner child inside of you and really just makes you feel a kinship with the characters. At least it does for me. I absolutely love this series.

It's tragic and beautiful at the same time, a lot like life is.

The strength is the acting of Sigourney Weaver as June, the head of Thornfield. Her transformation from Episode 1 to Episode 7 is truly amazing. She runs Thornfield, and it is a haven for abused women, yet misunderstood by the locals. It is a flower heaven, and in it the flowers tell a story. They are one with nature. Clem is June's son, and he married Agnes, and Alice is their daughter. After a fire, Alice comes to live at Thornfield. But June knows some terrible secrets, yet keeps them from Alice which does not serve either of them well. Alice leaves and cuts off all contact. Yet, the loss of Alice leaves a hole in the heart of June, and her stubbornness eats away at her. Episode 7 is very powerful, and ties a lot of loose ends and some of those loose ends make some of what happened earlier even more potent. Alice thinks she has found happiness far away, but that is only a mirage and she finds out how powerless she really is. There is a lot of complexity in the whole series, and in many ways that is good, as those problems may be solved in one TV episode, but in real life rarely wrapped up neatly. And both the flowers at Thornfield and the scenery throughout the episodes are truly wonderful.

Usually i'll wait until the end of a season or a show before I write a review but I decided to go ahead and write one about this and I will adjust as needed. This was a very strong start with the first three episodes! Doesn't take long before they pull you in that's for sure. I am very ready for all of the secrets to be revealed... I have a sneaky suspicion we are in for a lot. I'm enjoying the characters so far and I have no doubt they will flesh them out and we will see more of the past and into the future. I don't pretend to know if this will be an ongoing thing or just a limited series. If it's going to be something that continues for another season, I already think they will need to pick up the pace a little bit. Not that I'm not completely involved and I will certainly watch each episode as it comes out but they are dragging a little bit. That's the reason I didn't give 10 stars I believe there were a few things they could have pushed forward a little faster. But I'm not mad at it at all! Or bored. Great characters really good actors I'm excited to see where it goes. Oh, and I am loving Oggi and hope he's in for the entirety. We haven't seen a whole lot of him but everything I've seen of him I love!