M'entends-tu?

Great acting; realistic and engaging portrayal of life challenges in a Montreal urban setting. I binge watched both seasons... could not stop... laughed and cried... Merci and bravo to the cast and writers... Looking forward to season 3...

I ran across this on Netflix and am so happy they brought this little Quebecois gem to the south. The acting is so sincere, so authentic and everyone in the show so vested in the screenplay with all their heart. The portrayal of poverty in Canada is not something often encountered on the screen and I have to admit it shook my image of Canada as a land of plenty with its honest examination of the visiousness of the poverty conundrum. The setting is a non-gentrified, poor and neglected neighborhood hidden behind the majestic beauty of Montreal, one a tourist likely would not encounter. To say the show is gritty is an understatement but despite the sadness of the landscape and the lives of the three protagonists the writers still manage to show the humor and grace required to survive such an environment. It's a beautiful show worthy of a larger audience.

The strength of this series lies in the excellent work by the three main actresses. It has some humourous moments, but for the most part is a gritty look at generational dysfunctional patterns of behaviour which can take years to overcome. The second season focuses more on domestic abuse and some scenes are difficult to view. There are also scenes of abuse inside a prison.

I was curious as to why there weren't any trigger warnings regarding the abuse, and why there weren't any resource numbers listed at the end of the episodes. It's commendable that the series creators focused on this important subject, but why not provide further help/information.

All I can say is that the kinds of family dysfunction depicted here is portrayed incredibly realistically, along with the full range of emotional reactions that accompany growing up in that sort of environment - including both the humour and rage needed to survive it. I laughed & became tearful at various points watching this series, & came to love each of these three characters. The character development was so well written, & acted, that it was not only entertaining but therapeutic! I would even go so far as to recommend it as a helpful tool for opening up discussion in educational and/or therapy contexts. Kudos to those who chose to tackle these difficult topics in their screenwriting, & who recognized that humour is often the only saving grace for retaining sanity in insane circumstances.

I really enjoyed it. The story is different, and the acting was great.