Two Summers

If it were a book, it would be a page turner. The series has fine actors, good plot, nice location. But there are some sloppyness.

I had to watch quite a few episodes to figure out who is who. When there are so many actors involved, the director should see to that we know who is who.

The woman around whome the series revolve is long, tall, darkhaired, eerie white and has brown eyes. Her 30 year older self is blond, blueeyed, small, freckled and has a broader face. That is a major faux pas.

So too is the pilot character. He is much older than the others.

The island??? There are no such island near the French Riviera. But ok, fiction is allowed.

This is a rather thoughtful film about friends then and now. It's told using flashbacks to give the viewer a complete picture of what happened years back to understand what's happening now in the island while they're on vacation. In the early episodes, the viewer is reminded of a Hercule Poirot movie as the friends try to uncover the culprit.

The actors are good, the scenery is great. The piano and violin score is haunting and evokes the rather tragic mood of the story. The viewer is immersed in what's happening to the friends many years later.

It might be difficult for the viewer to understand the ending for the first time. S/he might have to repeat the last episode to get it right.

Overall, it's watchable and worthy of your time. Sidebar: 2 of the actors, namely, Ruth Becquert and Sanne Sanina Hanssen were together in the popular Belgian-Dutch co-production Undercover.

As Episode 1 of "Two Summers" (2022 release from Belgium; 6 episodes of about 45 min each) opens, we are in "Silicon Valley, USA", where Peter and his wife Romee live in a palatial estate. Just as they head out the door, Peter receives a message on his phone, containing a highly explosive video of an incident that happened 30 years ago. We then go to "Antwerp, Belgium", where a group of 6 friends get ready to fly out to a private island in the south of France, to celebrate Romee's 50th birthday. At this point we are 10 min into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: let me state upfront that I hail from Antwerp, Belgium (but have now lived in the US for many years) and when this was suggested to me by Netflix based on my viewing habits, I almost fell onto the floor when I realized that this is an authentic Flemish/Belgian TV mini-series. The "two summers" referred to in the title are the current summer and the summer of 1992, when the protagonists all are about 20 years old. Now reaching 50, it turns out that there are some very dark secrets hanging over their heads. So what starts as a happy-go-lucky reunion among this group of longtime friends, quickly unravels, and I'll leave it at that. The only performer I recognized is Ruth Becquart, one of Belgium's top actors (she was recently in the new season of that other great Flemish series "Undercover", also available on Netflix).

"Two Summers" premiered on Belgian (Flemish) TV in February (with stellar TV ratings), and it recently premiered on Netflix, where all 6 episodes are streaming now. If you are in the mood for a psychological thriller with a twist (or two) and a European setting, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion. Note to Netflix: THANK YOU for bringing this to US audiences. Please stream more such foreign mini-series!

Two Summers is a well-produced, well-acted series that maintains its tension well and keeps the viewer guessing. Plus, it has a few twists and turns along the way. Two things kept it from getting higher marks: First, there was the challenge of trying keep track of which character was which 30 years later. I managed to solve that problem. The bigger issue was the absence of likability of any of the characters. The characters were so flawed and cynical, it was hard to feel good about anybody in the drama. That said, it did hold one's interest.

I am getting really good at enjoying foreign series using subtitles. Honestly, I watched the first 2 episodes, then had to go back and watch the first one again just to understand who grew up to be who. Once I got that, I enjoyed it all. It didn't seem to move too slowly for me. Are there so few actors in Belgium that they couldn't get someone to play the previously preppie Didier as the mature Didier? My apology to the elder actor. He was totally mis-cast. Breathtaking scenery.