La ferrovia sotterranea

The wife and I are 5 episodes in and so far its excellent, but there's a few things you should know before jumping in, spoiler free.

Number one is this show is not historically accurate in anyway and that's okay, but you should know that. The only true thing about this show is that slavery existed and there was an "underground railroad", but that is not accurately represented.

The Underground Railroad in this show is a literal railroad and in the historical sense it was not, but rather used as a way to secretly communicate the movement of runaway slaves to the north. There are also several other historical inaccuracies, but again that's okay as long as you look at the show as a complete work of fiction that has SOME historical context.

That being said, the show is excellent when you omit historical accuracy. Its a great work of fiction with good acting, cinematography, directing and writing. Very enjoyable and look forward to seeing the end of the story.

This review is only on the pilot (For now). It's a very good surprise frankly, it's very good and realistic at times when we could look away. The story is set up easily and makes you want to see the rest. I must also note that the costumes, sets and more generally the plans are magnificent. Go see this pilot to give you an opinion you will not regret!

This 10-part series is filled with deeply impactful scenes of the African-American experience in the South and southern Indiana in the pre-Civil War era.

Cora Randall, the escaped slave, and Arnold Ridgeway, the slave catcher, are unforgettable characters. Some of the violence is extremely graphic.

The series takes a magical realist approach to the story, which is not my favored approach to fiction. I found some symbolism very distracting and the many very dimly-lit scenes hard to follow.

Worth watching.

Barry Jenkins does what he does best! Beautiful cinematography, amazing score, excellent casting and acting, the pace is deliberate (if not a bit slow). Stand out episodes South Carolina, Fannie Briggs (for the cinematography), Indiana Winter (whew). I love that there aren't any standout stars to distract you as well....that being said you will see a lot for this cast in the future. I definitely recommend but I don't think you should binge it. The subject matter is heavy and you need to allow time to absorb the subtle details.

First of all, I was a bit shocked to see this rated PG. It should have been at the very least a 12. The first episode, especially, is very gritty with some disturbing scenes. Perhaps not at graphic as some shows today, but still not for children, IMHO.

Secondly, after the gripping first 2 episodes, this becomes very, very slow, with scenes stretched out for far, too long.

I didn't mind the flashbacks, but it would have been so much better if the pace had been faster, rather than showing everything in excruciating detail.

Thirdly, I know it wasn't supposed to be historically accurate, but having actual trains running underground with no-one up above ever hearing or finding them was too far-fetched, never mind how long it would have taken to dig the tunnels and steal a train to run down there!

Also, not all whites were abusers, even in the deep South. Many hated slavery and helped a lot of slaves to escape to the North, but in this portrayal almost all whites are bad and use the 'N' word far, too often.

The program did, however, show how slaves were treated as less than nothing. Property to be used and disposed of on a whim. Sometimes it's easy to forget just how bad it was.

All-in-all it was watchable, but slow-paced, far-fetched and graphic in parts.