Umbre

This film is from Romania, yet easily hangs with the best that HBO, Netflix, & Hollywood have ever offered. Umbre is about a family man who tries to balance his life a taxi driver with his secret life in the Romanian underworld. Backs are stabbed, and plots are schemed. If you like shows like the Sopranos or Breaking Bad, check this out. You won't be disappointed.

The entire thing is an acquired taste. The characters are who they are, violent, merciless towards "rats" and people who don't pay up on time. The thought of changing seems to have never have crossed their minds. Only Relu doesn't seem to take any plesure in doing what he does.

I am pesonally blown alway by the production value, especially the third season. If the language was not Romanian, I could swear that I am watching True Detective, it really is that good. The the soundtrack, the lighting, the entire atmosphere are absolutely spot on.

Not entirely sure if all people are going to have the somach to get over a few very disturbing parts. There are constantly references towards fu***ing in a slightly different way than the American shows so bear that in mind.

I live pretty close to Romania and cannot believe that such masterfully crafted show could be produced in our part of the world. It really blows out of the water anything I have previously seen from the Estern European region. If you like dark twisted humour, you will definetely have plenty of laughts.

First of all, I'm an avid TV-series watcher. It's pointless to name them all but believe me, I've probably wasted years of my life watching series of all kind.

Second, I just can't believe the quality of this show. Romanian shows are cheap soap operas, cheap comedies or just plain bad cheap stuff for the masses.

It is the first time a Romanian show (original show) pays attention to details such as: - music - lighting - perfect sound - editing and special fx

I've seen the shows other reviewers mention: Breaking bad, The Wire, Sopranos, 24, etc - more than once. UMBRE is not a copy of those shows. But now, in 2015, after millions of movies have been made it is almost impossible to say a new show is totally original so of course you feel the need to compare them.

UMBRE has the Romanian touch to it - the long scenes where all you see is a bit of the normal life of a character - the type of scenes that give you a sense of reality to it. You don't have these in US shows.

The actors do a wonderful job and I don't need more character development, it's not a novel it's an action-comedy show not a theater play.

The slang might be too much for some but when was the last time you spend some time within that social class? When you watch The Wire there are scenes where all they say is "fu*k" for 5 minutes, continuously.

I really want this show to continue - it's a new breed of show in Romania and I want to see this one succeed and other to appear afterward. I'm just sick and tired of shows about communism, Romanian tragedies, telenovelas, etc.

Great director and great acting performance. Maybe the characters are not so well developed, maybe the script is sometimes lacking consistence. In the same time the Director compensates with incredible talent and flair. Igor Cobileanski is a huge surprise, HBO people were lucky to find such a talent who was practically unknown. Serban Pavlu is playing like Relu is his alter ego and Maria Obretin, even as she has theater written all over her face, she performs like she has been doing TV movies for her entire life. Quality of the movie is in the same league with Breaking Bad. The image is brilliant, the D.O.P. does a marvelous job. Some audiences consider the language too violent, in my opinion language is very realistic considering the nature of the characters. I believe it is the best Romanian TV series ever made. With a better script, I would have given a 10.

Most watchers will compare this series with other international big-budget successes such as Breaking Bad, the Sopranos or the Wire. I think that this is the first mistake that the Romanian audience makes. The second one is referring to the language that is used as being to vulgar or non-representative for the street (illegal) activities that occurs in Romania. The third mistake is emphasizing the lack of character development.

On the first case, this is a low budget series, with its main aim being entertainment. If it plays well, then the future seasons will, most likely, be better. Comparing apples and oranges is one thing - they're both fruit, but comparing sledgehammers and ponies is a totally different thing. This series was created for the Romanian audience, not the American one, and because the watcher's used to American series, then he is part of the American audience.

Secondly, on the language used, referring to it as exaggerated means not seeing the chain of events. Each episode has 45 minutes and it reflects 45 minutes of events, which happen to be the ones that demand that type of language. Again, this is due to the lack of experience the Romanian audience has with this type of native- swearing. We're used to foreign street language and we consider it natural, but when someone talks like that in Romanian its, somehow exaggerated.

Thirdly, the lack of character development might be seen as an issue, but, to my eyes, this is what makes the show entertaining. You don't know what to expect from the main character, especially since he's an anti-hero. Not being fed with the way you should feel about the main character gives this story an upper hand.

Nevertheless, I must say that I'm writing this review based only on the first five episodes, but even so, I personally find this show highly entertaining with more than just a few glances of genius writing and acting. A definite must for Romanian speakers and highly recommended for those into the anti-hero underworld drama series.