Genre: TV Series
Grade: A
Notable People: Robin Renucci, Audrey Fleurot, Thierry Godard Created by: Sally Frederick Kevine, Emmanuel Dauce, Philippe Triboit
Title: A French Village
Review: A sweeping masterpiece from French TV station MHZ, in French with sub-titles. Tells the riveting tale of the small French village of Villeneuve from the beginning of the Nazi occupation in 1940 until the liberation in 1945-6. Possibly the best representation of the war years I have seen as told from the vantage of a small community devastated, overwhelmed and inalterably changed by the war and its aftermath. Brilliant recount of the initial passivity to the Nazis and loyalty to the onerous Vichy government and the burgeoning of the resistance. An array of splendid characters and story lines, meticulously recreated and detailed. Reviewers have compared in to a French version of The Wire for its plethora of well-developed characters and story lines. The last two epilogue seasons did not quite match up to the first five, but absolutely don’t miss film nonetheless. Available on Prime for free for some seasons and others for charges (Amazon Greed!)- but you can access an MHZ subscription for a month (for binge watching) through amazon for a reasonable amount- once you start and get past an initial documentary-like feel (which changes to pure drama very soon) , you will not stop. DVDs also available from your local library, which I did for last three seasons to say fuck you to Amazon.