Sambre

I nearly didn't watch this, given the premise of this French series, however, I'm glad I did. While the programme is very clear about the fact that this show doesn't claim to be 100% factually accurate, it honours the victims of this true-crime by delivering a devastating, and justified, assault on the French legal system in the 80s, 90s and 00s.

The writing and acting is very well done and it's almost masterful how the show develops, with each episode focusing on a different character in the tale.

It has moments where it's difficult to watch, not because of the crimes themselves (those are handled with great respect), but the neglectful police, particularly in the first few episodes, left me feeling a little sick.

It's an important piece of television, with many lessons that need to be learned - hopefully this show will help prevent such instances from ever happening again.

Difficult and enraging to watch but I'm glad I did. So many heartbreaking moments. Poor Christine at the site of the attack during the re-creation saying "thank you" to the police, the rage and pain of the young girl from the institution describing her attack, the compassion and understanding (at last!) of the Mayor falling like rain on a desert. These scenes and many more vividly demonstrate the suffering of the women amidst the world of male/societal incomprehension, callousness and negligence. How can it be I asked myself many times, and yet it was/is. This attitude hasn't gone anywhere. At this very moment, Gisele Pelicot's husband is on trial for raping her and inviting other men to rape her while unconscious over a period of many years. Both stories are monstrous and yet they happened.

This is based on the true story of a serial rapist who committed his offences over about 30 years. I admit that I was not familiar with the case as it was not widely reported in the UK. It is a methodical docudrama which starts in 1988 and finishes at the trial in 2022 thirty four years later. Each of the six episodes tells the story from the point of view of a leading character at various years of the investigation. Maybe it was a sign of the times but in the early stages the police showed little compassion for the victims and made only a token effort to investigate. It was awkward to watch, as traumatised victims were reporting their sexual assaults to sceptical police elsewhere in the police station officers were partying like it was New Years Eve. Shocking. Over the years various investigators seemed to be closing in on the rapist, but he still remained free to continue his evil deeds.

This was a compelling watch but had many scenes which could make uncomfortable viewing.

Highly recommended.

I'm a huge fan of Scandi Noir and most of my serial binging heads in that direction ( until now ) ; without doubt , this has been one of the most atmospheric , well scripted , incredibly well acted and directed dramas that I've seen in an age . To an actress / actor ( and I make that emphasis deliberately ) , they absolutely deliver the emotion , tension and crippling effects of the crime ( s ) in question . The everlasting trauma and familial devastation wreaked as a result is there in all its gore ( there is no gore by the way , which is one of its savings ) . I truly hope the events , based on facts , inspire the writers and producers to follow this up with another masterpiece and I hope it wins a myriad of awards . Thank you.

Very similar to the recent (2023) ITV series "The Long Shadow" which focuses on a similar story of a serial offender (murderer there and a rapist here) that spans many decades but the main aspect is the police inefficiency which is very similar. Although this shows the events from different perspectives (albeit in a linear timeline) with episode one is titled after the first (or among the first) victim with the last titled after the rapist himself, with various episodes in between titled with the names of the various investigators tasked with the case along the years.

It is similarly infuriating (as The Long Shadow) watching the rapist being so close to being caught if the police looked a bit harder, were a bit more trained or even cared a bit more.

On retrospect this series reminds me a lot of "Unbelievable" which was a similar series about a serial rapist a few years back and just as unbelievable.

The pacing is quite good, you don't really feel bored at all, the acting is superb (especially liked the actor who played The Commander) and showing the case evolve over the decades through different points of perspectives i,e, the victim, the judge, the mayor, the scientist and the commander is quite immersive and you see things from a new perspective every episode.

All in all shows like these are essential viewing because firstly it helps us admit that we were wrong in the past and only after admitting that can we say that we are hopefully learning from our mistakes and evolving as a species.