Matroesjka's

Quality always shows, no matter where it comes from. Belgium may not be very well known for its movies or series, but from time to time some director really knows what to do to make our little country proud. I've seen several Belgian movies and most of the time I wasn't very pleased with them ("De Zaak Alzheimer" and "Hombres Complicados" are exceptions to that rule). Almost all lacked professionalism and tried too hard to look like Hollywood productions. That's not the case with "Matroesjka's". This series never even tries to look like it comes from Hollywood. It wants to look Belgian and it succeeds perfectly.

In this series we follow some young Russian and Lituanian girls who are recruited by some Belgians with the promise that they will earn a lot of money as dancers (not as strippers) and that they will be able to build a better future for themselves and their families. But from the beginning on the problems start: their contracts are in Greek, they are first sent to a nightclub on Cyprus and they soon realize that their situation won't get any better. But what they don't even know yet is that they will not only have to strip. They will also have to work as prostitutes and they will never be free for as long as they work in the nightclubs...

This series deals with something that we aren't very proud of, but that really is a part of our country: white slavery (the buying of women in Eastern Europe and using them in the sex industry). It's a well-known fact that Belgium, and Antwerp in particular, is a major player in this scene. But this series also shows that it isn't always the big crime syndicates who deal in women. Often the people who do such things are people from the middle classes. Another thing that is made very clear by this series is the corruption in the police department. Too often there has been proof of police officers who worked together with those networks instead of trying to catch them...

It's very clear that the writers of this program were able to do everything they wanted. Normally they try too hard to make it all very spectacular and original, because that's exactly what the TV stations demand from them. In the average soap you'll see one plane crash after the next horrible murder, making it all very laughable, but far from realistic. Not this time. Of course there is some violence in this series, but it all contributes to the realism of the story, making "Matroesjka's" a series that we can all be very proud of. No wonder that it has been sold to so many other countries already. I hope it will be a huge success abroad as well. The makers sure deserve it. In the mean time we already got to know that, thanks to the huge success of the series, there will be a second part. Now let's hope that they keep up the good work and don't mess it up. Anyway, I give the first part an 8/10. It sure deserves it.

This series takes you deep into the Belgium Underworld. Murder, assault, extortion, but above all: women trade for the sex industry. The series starts in Russia and the east of Europe where women are recruited with false promises and stories by a group of Belgium criminals. This group exploits a sex club back in Belgium and they intend to let the recruited girls strip and work as prostitutes or else sell them to business associates. The club has always been top of the bill until the new group of girls starts to rebel against their 'owners'.

THe series has a lot of violence, strong language, and nudity and is therefore very realistic. The use of different languages and dialects only adds to this.. But unless you speak Russian, English (with strong Belgium and/or Russian accents), and "Flemish Dutch", subtitles are a 'must'.

All in all a great series, if you enjoy series like the Soprano's and Oz.

This fine Belgian series deals with an issue that has become so common in today's Europe. Eastern European girls and women are promised a decent job in the West, but they end up as prostitutes. Girls' credulity and and poor conditions in homeland lead its victims into modern slave trade business. It will be very easy to guess where the word 'slave' has come as it did not originally mean 'slave'.

Girls who have ended up into business have no other chance than to obey their masters and this is also shown in the series. There are however some cunning girls who attempt to escape their fate, but not much is there to do. Girls also have different attitudes towards their work. Yes - there are some, like a Russian girl named Kalinka, who don't think it's eventually bad to become stripper, if they have it no way better at home. But there are also girls like Lithuanian Daria, who is totally against the business and only wants to get back home. Some girls think they have found a boyfriend in their pimps, but are unfortunately mistaken. They all realize before long that they are just used for the business like batteries and then thrown away.

I've never seen anything like this on television and it may well be my first Belgian series I ever seen. Matroesjka's category is crime, but it presents the crime from victims viewpoint. It gives a completely different view to the world of prostitution than Boogie Nights does., though both are great in their own sense. Matroesjka's does not contain moralizing overtones, for it just tells a plain story of these women. There are even found 'goodies' in the pimps too, or lesser evils anyway. Everything in Matroesjka's is very enjoyable viewing, for some of the girls are really cool when they try to rise above their inhuman conditions.

I normally don't comment on TV-series but I'm gladly making an exception for our highly prestigious Belgian series "Matroesjka's". This unquestionably is the greatest, most ambitious project ever in this country and I dare to say that it could easily compete with world-class series such as "The Sopranos" or "Alias". A common mistake Belgian writers usually make is that they try very hard to make their premise look Hollywoodian, yet "Matroesjka's" isn't like that. On the contrary, the sex industry is a typical Belgian issue and our country often serves as the turn-table for this kind of crimes. And this series is an intelligent and detailed portrait of it all: raw, often shocking and thought-provoking. "Matroesjka's" centers on a criminal organisation that yearly travels to the poorest ex-Russian countries in order to recruit young girls as dancers for their Antwerp nightclub. The girls are promised big money and a more bright future, but in reality they'll serve for erotic dance-acts and even prostitution. Tired of their pitiable life conditions, ten attractive young girls sign a false contract that literally makes them the property of Ray van Mechelen and his relentless gang of small thugs, deranged psychos and violent aggressors. The rest of the carefully constructed screenplay focuses on the gangsters' interactions with each other (blackmail, betrayal, executions…) as well as with corrupt police detectives and the attempts of a sole journalist trying to publicly unmask the crime network.

"Matroesjka's" exist out of 10 episodes, which comes down to approximately 500 minutes of footage. Yet, there is not one dull moment and every episode becomes more fascinating. The series obviously disposed of a large budget but every cent is well-used! The detailed preceding research to the plotting is flawless while the set pieces and costumes and highly efficient. Most of the chapters are entirely filmed in Belgium, but the actual recruitment of the girls takes place in pauperized Russian wastelands and one episode is filmed in Cyprus where the girls received their "training". The makers put a lot of effort in making their series appear real! The unfortunate girls are actual Russian actresses that only speak English when necessary and with heavy accents. Even the Belgian actors are allowed to speak in their ugly Antwerp dialects and that only increases the naturalness and credibility of the series. Can you imagine dangerous thugs talking correct and without swearing?? Talking about the cast: every Flemish actor that ever meant something in the world of theater or cinema is involved in this project. It's an all-star cast, world famous…in Belgium. Most of them play the roles of their lives, more particularly Peter van den Begin as the head of the organization and Tom Van Dyck as the deranged, trigger happy lunatic.

"Matroesjka's" contains several sequences that are stuffed with exploitative violence and gratuitous nudity…But what else do you expect from an allegory focusing on mafia crimes like this! It's a tough world and if you have the ambition of telling a story about it: you better make it realistic. Luckily, the whole production was realized without having to worry about censorship or ratings which are very important in a shock-portrait like this. Our country doesn't mean that much in the field of television or cinema but "Matroesjka's" undeniably is a brilliant piece of instant cult-entertainment. The news got out that the series already has been sold to several other European countries and TV-stations so, in case you soon encounter it dubbed in French, German, Spanish, English or whatever; please remember where it originally came from.

I'm currently watching this series of SBS TV in Australia. We're currently in between episodes 7 & 8.

I really cannot speak highly enough of this series. I'd give a run through of the general plot but that has already been well and truly canvassed by previous posters.

This series is streets ahead of US and most Australian dramas in the same vein. When I watch a US drama like this I find it they often come across as fake and over the top. Matroesjka's, or Russian Dolls as it is translated into English manages to maintain a high level of excitement and keep the viewers interest whilst keeping entirely realistic and believable, offering an honest portrayal of the plight of Eastern European sex slaves.

I really hope that this series is put to DVD, with English subtitles. In Australia we are lucky to have a brilliant team of subtitlers at SBS TV, it'd be nice if SBS acquired the rights to produce a DVD, wishful thinking no doubt.

If this is the standard of Belgian TV, then I'd better book myself a plane ticket.