Netflix is now present in 190 countries, and has an absolutely rich international catalog of series. So much so that sometimes English-language blockbusters can overshadow the amazing efforts that subscribers can discover from a thumbnail recommendation. The editors of are following closely and have found three proposals with undeniable qualities from from Israel, Poland and Germany. Enough to recommend them to others if you like!
Our picks: Elles Brillint, When Heroes Fly and Biohackers.
What series to watch on Netflix this weekend?
Chronicles of the bittersweet period: they shine
Summary: Poland, 1976 Three women in search of independence, financial freedom and love find their way through social and political upheaval.
Opinion : Gainsbourg had Jane Birkin sing “69, Erotic Year”. As described in They Shine, one could argue that 1976 was an equally erotic summer in Pomerania, on the idyllic coastline of northern Poland, marked by scorching temperatures. Enough to attract noble people and young people to relax on the beaches, on drunken evenings, despite the communist yoke reigning in the country. The moral revolution also took place imperceptibly. However, this vision is far less well-known than presented in the series: three women in search of independence, resorting to sex work for different reasons. In the case of Elena (Magdalena Poplavskaya), it is a currency of power and influence that allows her to remain under the interested protection of state security, which forces her to play the role of informer and spy. In the case of Paula (Victoria Philus), a single mother, she tries to blackmail a bureaucrat to get back her business license, confiscated under vague pretexts, that would allow her to start a shampoo business. And in the case of the student Marysya (Matylda Gizgno) – according to the taste of risk and capitalist profit.
Tinted with bright colors directing, tracking moving bodies and a crackling disco-style soundtrack – this is Elles Brillan’s big deal. The three heroines are very rare, but offer a very complementary glimpse of a journey littered with traps under the glassy gaze of male characters, very often presented as system leaders, jealous and perverted. Playing with psychological power relationships will be critical for Helena, Paula and Marysia; you are always there for an ambitious drama series like The Girlfriend Experience. Even if the show doesn’t shy away from delusional ramblings like a holiday trip that escalates into a brawl in episode four, it does give pride of place to three stunning performances by actresses. Without glorification or misplaced modesty, They Shine is one of Netflix’s finest European hits. And this despite the fact that 10 episodes were released with the greatest care in the middle of winter (December 2022).
- Eternal Summer Elles Brillint in the trailer (on the o.o.):
Emotional Thriller: When Heroes Fly
Summary: Years after a row, four Israeli veterans travel together to Colombia in search of a loved one they thought was dead.
Opinion : When Heroes Fly is first and foremost the story of a lost brotherhood. The story of four soldiers: Aviv (Tomer Kapon), Dotan, nicknamed Himmler because of his pale complexion (Michael Aloni), Azulai (Dan Mor) and Benda (Moshe Ashkenazi), who fall into a tense ambush in Lebanon and which ends in connection with the death of their commander. In the next decade, quarrels intervene, Azule develops PTSD, Benda is addicted to drugs, and Himmler suffers from cancer. Twelve years later, the vision of Yaeli (Ninet Taieb), Azulei’s former companion, and Sister Dubi, a friend of the quartet in downtown Bogota when she was thought to have died in an accident, will reunite them in a new one. What they are about to discover will not only not put them on Yaeli’s trail, but will put them in danger in a country about which, apart from Benda, who emigrated there, they know absolutely nothing. But who will cook them forever.
Far from being just another tale of disappearance or a thriller with a high concentration of drug dealers, When Heroes Fly is the story of fugitives caught in their reality. Like Yaeli, who was left alone in South America after a brutal breakup while Azulai was on a downward spiral, all the characters struggle with their demons. Whether it’s during the search for Yaeli, in 2018, or in flashbacks that take us back 10 or 12 years. Fleeing from illness, their responsibility, their future or even a traumatic past, the former comrades in arms are embodied by four very charismatic actors: we understand why the series was crowned at the 2018 Cannseries Festival (Best Series Award). It is the internal tension and sharp dialogues, as well as the demonstration of one’s wounds, which never disdain the public, that make up the whole solidity of this poignant series, inspired by the book of the same name. The American remake of Echo 3 has also been available on AppleTV+ since last fall.
- “Living Wounds” and “The Brotherhood of the Flying Heroes” in the trailer:
Clever game of German cat and mouse: biohackers
Summary: A medical student enters a prestigious German university to uncover a conspiracy linking a biology professor to a family tragedy.
Opinion : If you’re expecting all sorts of wacky and impressive experiences by investing in the German biohacker universe (which has two seasons airing in 2020 and 2021), go your own way. In truth, the life-size experiment seen in the first series is a disaster, similar to the pilot episode of another series about the dangers of unintelligent scientific evolution, Fringe: all the passengers of the car collapse under the helpless eyes of the heroine Mia (revelation of Luna Wedler, the main advantage of the series). A disaster in which she may well have played a part: a few weeks earlier, Mia accepted a university where the demanding and world-famous professor Tanya Lorenz (Jessica Schwartz) works. The latter expects the best from her students and does not hesitate to take a few under her wing as assistants, such as Mia or her companion Jasper (Adiran Tillmann); his gene therapy work is gaining public recognition, even to the detriment of scientific ethics. In reality, Mia seeks to shed light on the disastrous fate of her family, who was involved with Lorenz fifteen years ago, which will lead her to former colleagues relegated to the background.
Despite Luna Vedler’s charisma, Biohackers’ academic setting offers very few unheard-of twists on science drift and cutting-edge genetics, and… He points here and there at YouTube’s malicious science promulgators, but remains a well-crafted thriller whose main goal is to the arrest of a megalomaniac scientist. Its rather short pace (6 episodes barely exceeding 40 minutes) allows for some fun. She can even arrange some lighter episodes, such as one involving one of Mia’s talkative and jack-of-all-trades roommates, Chen-Lhu (Jing Xiang). Nice surprise at the end of the weekend.
- Watch the trailer for Biohackers:
Also read: