Summary
The series from the creators of Dark is a sci-fi nautical drama with a dark, Victorian setting. There is something claustrophobic and Kafkaesque in its development that is blurred from time to time by the patchwork of information (instead of increasing by repetition). Its characters are flat and their previous stories, interactions and their outcome fail to interest and are drowned (ahem) by that plot that drips information and by the repetition of situations that instead of acting dramatically by accumulation, only manage to accumulate annoyance in the spectator, exhausting his patience to elucidate the intrigue and making him feel that perhaps they are playing with his good faith.
Review
Several migrant passengers of different nationalities and the crew of a large transatlantic ship en route to New York begin to suffer from strange situations that defy logic when they cross the high seas with another ship reported missing.
I had to muster an unspeakable amount of patience to get 1899 finished. I know that tedium is not a critical analysis parameter, but in this case I can't help but point it out. Flat characters whose previous stories (all escape from a dark and traumatic past, although several travel first class...) and their outcome are not interesting, drowned (ahem) by a plot that drips information and repeats situations that instead of acting by accumulation they only manage to accumulate annoyance. Characters who speak different languages (English, German, Danish, Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese...) and who sometimes don't understand each other and sometimes understand each other.
The series from the creators of Dark Baran bo Odar (director) and Jantje Friesees (screenwriter) is a sci-fi nautical ensemble drama with a dark, Victorian setting. There is something claustrophobic and Kafkaesque in its development that every so often blurs (instead of increasing) due to an intrigue that hides a lot of information. There is a wandering of increasingly disoriented characters whose fate does not matter to us and who communicate with a waterproof solemnity and with an irritating and almost permanent soundtrack as a background. Some will say that this is functional to the thesis of the series and coherent with its underlying intrigue... As expected, each chapter ending poses a certain twist, with "cool" and anachronistic music included.
Finally, the philosophical statements about human nature, subjectivity, reality and revelations about what really happens do not contribute anything that has not been seen before in other famous movies and series, past and current.
1899 (which aims to show us a "system", as Dark did, although more limited and failed) would have gained a lot as a film, instead of presenting it as a very long and endless miniseries, where it is appropriate to highlight some maritime sequences and the beauty and originality of some images and effects and the presence of Emily Beecham, the great protagonist of the incredible and yes disturbing Little Joe.
Let's hope that 2023 doesn't bring us a 1900... or whatever.
The series from the creators of Dark is a sci-fi nautical drama with a dark, Victorian setting. There is something claustrophobic and Kafkaesque in its development that is blurred from time to time by the patchwork of information (instead of increasing by repetition). Its characters are flat and their previous stories, interactions and their outcome fail to interest and are drowned (ahem) by that plot that drips information and by the repetition of situations that instead of acting dramatically by accumulation, only manage to accumulate annoyance in the spectator, exhausting his patience to elucidate the intrigue and making him feel that perhaps they are playing with his good faith.
Review
Several migrant passengers of different nationalities and the crew of a large transatlantic ship en route to New York begin to suffer from strange situations that defy logic when they cross the high seas with another ship reported missing.
I had to muster an unspeakable amount of patience to get 1899 finished. I know that tedium is not a critical analysis parameter, but in this case I can't help but point it out. Flat characters whose previous stories (all escape from a dark and traumatic past, although several travel first class...) and their outcome are not interesting, drowned (ahem) by a plot that drips information and repeats situations that instead of acting by accumulation they only manage to accumulate annoyance. Characters who speak different languages (English, German, Danish, Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese...) and who sometimes don't understand each other and sometimes understand each other.
The series from the creators of Dark Baran bo Odar (director) and Jantje Friesees (screenwriter) is a sci-fi nautical ensemble drama with a dark, Victorian setting. There is something claustrophobic and Kafkaesque in its development that every so often blurs (instead of increasing) due to an intrigue that hides a lot of information. There is a wandering of increasingly disoriented characters whose fate does not matter to us and who communicate with a waterproof solemnity and with an irritating and almost permanent soundtrack as a background. Some will say that this is functional to the thesis of the series and coherent with its underlying intrigue... As expected, each chapter ending poses a certain twist, with "cool" and anachronistic music included.
Finally, the philosophical statements about human nature, subjectivity, reality and revelations about what really happens do not contribute anything that has not been seen before in other famous movies and series, past and current.
1899 (which aims to show us a "system", as Dark did, although more limited and failed) would have gained a lot as a film, instead of presenting it as a very long and endless miniseries, where it is appropriate to highlight some maritime sequences and the beauty and originality of some images and effects and the presence of Emily Beecham, the great protagonist of the incredible and yes disturbing Little Joe.
Let's hope that 2023 doesn't bring us a 1900... or whatever.