Babylon Berlin 2017-2020 3 seasons. Netflix

28 hours of pure bliss and angst. With a story line that is quite appalling, and this should come as no surprise. Set in a teeming visually exciting Berlin of 1929 we know what is coming. The two main characters are a conflicted drug addled detective played by Volker Bruch scarred from fighting in the first world war and a sometime sex worker scarred from a life of bitter poverty who is also a stenographer but wants to become a detective played by Liv Lisa Fries. Both are superb, sexy good looking and appealing and Hollywood should grab them up. Also terrific is Peter Kurth the spitting image of Sig Ruman as Bruch’s superior on the police force who is sometimes a friend and sometimes not. The series is complex and full of rich characters populated by many many supporting actors and actresses (some of whom were somewhat familiar to me) and extras who look like they just stepped out of paintings by Kirchner, Grosz, Beckmann and Dix, the series is a visual blast and delight. The plot is dense and complex and sometimes made me feel lost and found but its always arresting and staggering in its labyrinths. There are some obvious touches like a few of the bad guys having scars and birthmarks as if we needed these visual signals to let us know just how vile they are. There are also plenty of homage’s and touches to the great masters of German silent and early cinema including Fritz Lang, Murhau, Weiner and Pabst along with some wicked and delicious Louise Brooks touches, which I will not give away here. The three seasons of course are loaded with politics, which bring in lots of deceit and backstabbing among the communists and the National Socialists. The rise of the Nazi’s is subtle and not loud and obvious as I thought it might be, but its still there in small and large touches. There are also sub-plots upon sub-plots that involve stolen gold, gay romances, blackmail, and scandals involving the porn industry, sex galore and wild nights in nightclubs and cabarets. The 3rd season although still overflowing with the politics of the time also introduces a murder mystery set at a film studio and is full of movie references and details that gave me great pleasure not to mention lots of chuckles. The series also has the look and feel of those old serials where the hero and heroine get themselves into outrageous situations and we wonder how will they survive that one, but in next weeks episode they do with much tongue in the cheek and a train chase at the end of the 2nd season that should take your breath away, it did mine. The details and production values are rich and dense, with many brilliant and small touches like a quick shot of some orthodox Jews walking safely through the city, glistening nighttime cobblestone streets wet with recent rainstorms and dinners of goulash that you can almost smell. I’ve been told that this is the most expensive non-English language series ever made, and it looks it. There are stunning shots of the city as it was thanks to brilliant art direction and great digital special effects. The costumes are beautiful and accurate as far as I can tell and the textiles and interiors are also perfection down to the tea servings, dinner wear and lighting fixtures. Sometimes the Art Deco and Art Nouveau interiors and set designs can be distracting because of their beauty and details, and on top of reading the subtitles I sometimes got distracted, as if I was in a museum or a gallery but this is a small criticism. The series was co-created, directed and written by Henk Handloegten, Tom Tykwer, Achim Von Borries and Volker Kutscher with Tykwer being the only familiar name to me. Also of note is the score which features songs by Bryan Ferry who also appears as a cabaret singer. The 3rd season ends with many things up in the air and happily a 4th season is planned, can’t let those magnificent sets go to waste. One of the best things I've ever seen. As a side note for those interested in this once great city I would recommend seeing if possible Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis from 1927 directed by Walter Ruttmann. This is a documentary that takes place during one day from morning to night in the city and I was fortunate to see it in the theatre a few years ago with a live orchestra accompanying it.