Trepalium

Last watched: July 2016

Summary:

30 years ago they created a wall around the city. Now, in France there is 80% unemployment. When the city decides to open it’s doors for the first time since, Izia, a young woman from outside the city in the slums known as ‘the Zone’ gets an opportunity to hold down work and provide for her family.

But you cannot erase three decades of prejudice with one initiative. ‘Actives’ or those who have jobs in the city are hostile towards ‘Zoners’ who are seen as a threat to their jobs and Izia gets caught up in the political crush between activists from the Zone and the people inside the city.

Opinion:

The show is a dystopian setting created by a society that measures person’s value by their work output. Because of this, when people ask about it, I’ve been saying “Eet ees verra FRAHNCH.”

That being said, the show is an excellent piece of speculative fiction. It has verra decent production values so doesn’t fall into that (kind of loveable) Red Dwarf pitfall where everything very clearly looks like it’s made out of spray painted cardboard. The writing is clever and not totally predictable and the women characters are well rounded. The main woman is an excellent actor and a woman of colour (I believe).

Pros: excellent critique of capitalism, consumerism and “work ethic”, women characters are diverse and well written
Cons: Could be queerer, could have more lead people of colour, could focus less on the family unit
Genre: Speculative Fiction, French

Light/heavy rating: 6
Approach carefully if: you struggle with subtitles, have difficulty with murder,

Can be found: SBS On Demand
Accessibility: Subtitled 😀

If you liked, I recommend: Cleverman, District 9 (movie), Mad Addam (coming soon to HBO), 3%