itt: non-english-language netflix series you recommend (or not) and commentary thereon

luxury, criminal decadence, martial-arts cops and profiling on the streets of the people's republic of china: WHEN A SNAIL FALLS IN LOVE

^^^more ppl shd be watching this!

2 episodes into Babylon Berlin -- 1929 Germany, political intrigue, Expat Trotskyists, PTSD cops, urban squalor, art deco cabaret stuff -- some odd musical choices w/Bryan Ferry involved.

I still don't understand why it defaults to playing the dubbed version rather than the German w/subtitles

a russian netflix show i for some reason cannot quite bring myself to commit to, even tho it sounds interesting = ]FARTSA: "as four Russian friends grow up in the early 60s, life, love and the curse of success threaten to derail their dreams" :(

Babylon Berlin is great, defaulting to subtitles with me.

Odd musical choices indeed. The singalong cabaret song in the second episode felt very modern and out of place.

Looks really great, though.

The singalong cabaret song in the second episode felt very modern and out of place.

yes, and now it is the closing music for all the episodes that follow (at least the next two) -- I can't really read the credits anyway, so ... I think a lot of it is the mix between vocals and instruments, or ... idk, it's like the dialog dubbing with most things, there's something really off.

And yet the gay club in episode 4 has some great and seemingly fitting jazz going on.

tt and I have discovered Kantaro independently of Scott and Ed but found them to be rapturous about it on here

it's probably the greatest television programme ever made

Dark seemed ok for 3 eps. Does it get bad later?

(lol @ German things tho, even one of the male leads looks like Steve!)

tt and I have discovered Kantaro independently of Scott and Ed but found them to be rapturous about it on here

it's probably the greatest television programme ever made

― imago, Wednesday, 7 February 2018 11:54 (four hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Kanataro popped up on tokyo morning tv when we over there last month. He is a classically trained kabuki actor specialising in female roles. The segment showed him going back to his roots in the theatre.

I ate anmitsu in his honour and also went to the chocolate shop, Minimal that he visits in episode 11.

OTCB looks good. Cop show set in pre-handover Hong Kong. Only tested 5 minutes but they had me at archival footage of a plane landing at Kai Tak.

probably should give Babylon Berlin a whirl, it will no doubt feel like slumming it after watching the searing masterpiece Alexanderplatz last year, but let's give it a chance.

MARSEILLE s2 is on netflix uk

the overhead shots of the city are so exciting (i love marseille)

I am so thrilled the new Terrace House will be on netflix soon.

Yes!! I watched everything that’s on Netflix in the space of a month. We need a Terrace House thread. Ryota Yamasato is the best presenter of all time.

All of the hosts have such great chemistry together.

I think my favourite stretch so far was the Nacchan episodes. She was good at stirring up shit.

https://abload.de/img/angry-house54u6q.gif

I know - such a perfect balance of perspectives. I love how Yu and Tokui play down their lasciviousness for Torichan’s benefit, and Kentaro’s frequent mute horror.

I feel like just watching Han-san made me a better person in dealing with difficult people.

Han-san! Otm. What an amazing presence. I’m still not over his departure. Minori taught me how being brazenly belligerent in the face of anything is actually a reasonable way to get by.

The meat incident was unforgivable though.

I'm glad to know I wasn't the only one taking personality tips from Han-San.

There's some episode where Tokui off-handedly mentions wanting to 'touch Kentaro's man parts' (something like that) that just killed me.

That was amazing. How he sort of casually enacted it too. My phone is full of screenshots of TH.

Even how You was groping Reina as an example of older people trying to relive their youth. I was like, ummmm.... well yeah, it's a bit different in asian and with women.

What was Han-san saying when they were going to confront Nacchan? It was so amazingly good. I am going to look for it tomorrow because everyone should memorize it.

Like, it was something about not judging her for her actions because they still valued her as an individual and that was not in question.

Minori became my favorite, I think largely because of how she handled the situation with Natsumi.

I think Kantaro the Sweet Tooth Salaryman might be better if the episodes were shorter.

Natsumi was decent in how she spoke to Uchi in the case of the meat. I was a big fan of Minori's sister in that episode too.

I have some Aloha State left to finish, but...I dunno, I'm getting bored of Taishi dominating this season.

The beauty queen shenanigans of Aloha State is the only thing really that made the end of the series worthwhile. And I guess Taishi comes out ok.

Yes! Cheri’s transformation into this great spirit of wildness was excellent, although the series was never quite the same after Guy left. His terribly-judged beach date was the highlight of Aloha State for me. With Taishi, I feel like the whole ‘guilty samurai’ routine expressed some kind of universal truth that was compelling enough.

Someone like Natsumi not just becoming a show villain is one of the strengths of Terrace House. Aloha State could've used a Han-san.
I agree that Aloha State became too Taishi-centric. I wonder if the other people just weren't really doing anything or anything the producers wanted to air- unlike American reality shows it seemed like they actually prefer not showing some of the "trashier" behavior.
Taishi was a recognizable and not entirely unsympathetic type but he was never really taken to task for some of his behavior and attitudes which was annoying given his own self righteousness.

I really enjoyed the Guy-Niki interlude.
Minori's sister was always good.

"Break up caused by meat! Break up caused by meat!" - The official TERRACE HOUSE thread

Every bit of Babylon Berlin is so good.

I just discovered this thread by searching for Babylon Berlin opinions. I just noticed that one this weekend and wanted to check the ilx reaction on it. Looks like that comes mostly recommended. Will check it out along with other stuff on this thread. I hadn't realized that Netflix was bringing on so many foreign shows until a month or so ago.

I've brought this one up a couple times on the regular Netflix thread, but since it hasn't been mentioned here: Tientsin Mystic is a really entertaining Chinese supernatural detective drama.

I have gotten a copy of Babylon Berlin season 2 but I'm waiting to watch it till I really need a treat.

Looking forward to THE RAIN, out on Friday: Danish post-apocalyptica about people who can't go out in the rain or they turn into monsters

Been mentioned on the other netflix thread, but Aggretsuko is well worth it - A Sanrio Red Panda eases the stresses of work with a secret life of Death Metal Karaoke singing.

don't normally have the patience for Korean dramas but am finding the supernatural/crime show "Black" strangely compelling - about a girl who can see death and a guy who's possessed by death. First few episodes are uneven and confusing (iirc the second episode was actively bad) but the way it juggles multiple genres at once is kinda entertaining: it's basically a supernatural thriller, crime procedural, family tragedy, conspiracy drama and rom-com all rolled into one. Also every episode has about 23402908243 subplots.

― Roz, Saturday, January 20, 2018 9:01 AM (three months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Friend of mine recommended Dark, which was discussed upthread. Will give Black a try as well, I guess.

― Eloi's Comin' (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, January 21, 2018 7:06 PM (three months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Started in on episode 1 of this one last night. Do all Korean tv shows run this over an hour per ep? It's not that I lack the patience, but am liable to fall asleep.

"run this long - over an hour per ep" is what I meant there.

the El Chapo series produced by Univision is pretty good. if you like Narcos you should watch it

first season is decent, mostly detailing his rise to power and his first stint in jail. second season is better, it goes into full-on cartel war and gets really nuts. but they're both worth watching

Finished Babylon Berlin not too long ago, and it's as great as has been mentioned.

When they first performed the "Ashes" song, I would've bet good money that it was a cover of a Bowie song!

Any reviews of The Rain? Yah/nah?

Yah-ish: well acted, leaves one too many big questions unanswered, end disappointing

Oh man, so many netflix shows have a disappointing end.

my faves so far, all-time

TRAPPED - Scandi murder shows are my favorite thing in the world. Grim, cold, deeply disturbing.

HOTEL BEAU SEJOUR - murder again with hyperreal supernatural vibe a la Dead Like Me or Six Feet Under. weird & twisty turny & i learned that Belgium loves motorcross

BABYLON BERLIN - i loved this so much i seriously contemplated finding a german language class for like an entire week afterwards.

the first ep was really off-putting but maybe it's because i accidentally watched the dubbed version

I thought it was absolute rubbish tbh, but I watched it after recently seeing Berlin Alexanderplatz, and possibly me became too pretentious and highfalutin a fool for Netflix period fluff.