Ad Vitam

It was on my list forever as it's sf but Netflix's info on it was so misleading that I kept ignoring the show. I'm so glad I didn't. It's so different and so much better than all the other stuff on immortality. I'm so tired of the type of future imagined in 'blade runner' or 'altered carbon'...all these weird market places where you can buy nearly anything. The future here looks very much like the present, except a couple of details. The show's approach to extending life indefinitely is by far the best I've seen in ages. The show looks at aspects other tv shows usually don't explore, like forgetting what bereavement is. ..quite amazing

6.5/10 Some parts slow. budget in low end of the scale and it show in some of the sets(futuristic empty grey). acting on the less emotional /expressional in general. watch in French . still, if it is a low budget it is a very decent series, specially first 3 episodes.

Right now (i have one ep left to watch) i'm hooked up. The first ep had left me undecisive, some parts of it were shallow, but the outstanding performance of Garance Marillier decided me to try see how her rough yong character would evolve. And suddenly, at ep 3, a revelation : the whole thing made sense ! the construction of which you could only see the tip (like an iceberg) previously, was beginning to have its foundation revealed (like a skyscrapper ?). It's a grim story, set in a grim realistic futur, and it becomes grimmer, more intricate, as episodes go on. It suddenly is a real sensible reflexion on death and human's life and the value of it all. Yo don't see that often in a work of fiction. If you give it a try, make sure to not give up before ep 3, admittedly it's halfway in - but it felt like a turning point in the series.

It's a fairly interesting concept, though it has been done before I've never seen it quite like this.

Most 'eternal life' shows have a very limited number of people living forever - the rich and/or powerful or a single villain. In this one, the vast majority can live indefinitely (it's never clear on the percentages of people who are 'incompatible'.)

It works as a mystery 90% of the way through the show, mainly because nothing that anybody does has any clear motivation. Even some of the basic premise is contrived - why set the 'age of majority' to 30 in general just because a person can't regenerate until 30? Minors are not drink, and everyone under 30 is designated a minor just because this one technology doesn't work for them yet. Lots of little silly things like that.

But the worst part is that nobody has any real motives for anything. A bunch of random things are being done by people for no apparent reason, other than "well I've lived a hundred years I'm ready to try something new." There are also several rabbit trails and things that are hinted at but never followed up on. What exactly is 'retraining?' (The following examples are obvious from the first episode, and apparently not in any way significant to the plot, so don't worry.) Why does Darius get headaches when he regenerates? Does the law they are voting on forbid all births or only restrict them, and if it forbids all births then what will they do as people die from accidents or violence?

The end seems to try to be a bit philosophical, but it fell flat for me because there was never any real reason given to believe anything would really change, ever. It wasn't terrible, it just wasn't clear enough to be moving or thought provoking or exciting or much of anything beyond slightly interesting.

If I could live a thousand years, I don't think I'd ever get bored enough to watch it again.

Exactly what you want from a sci-fi series, cool concept, excellent execution, good acting and several red herrings taking you off into not such a distant future where eternal youth is just beginning, and the young are treated as kids until they are over 30 years old.

It's too easy to press the next episode in this series as the investigation progresses with the characters and plot building into the last episode. There are some shocking scenes that are quite graphic, although not violent. A must watch for those who don't want 'Wham, Bam, smash and grab' kiddies sci-fi.