Babylon Berlin - Série 3

Season 3 of Babylon Berlin was the weakest one so far. The whole thing was unbalanced, there were moments when everything seemed almost perfect, followed by a slap in the face and a decline in quality (when it completely gave up on logic). Honestly, the whole plot with the killer of actresses seemed redundant and an obvious effort to fill the increased number of episodes. As long as the creators focused on politics, money, and the atmosphere, it was great. 4*- (25.07.2020)

The serial retelling of Gereon Rath's second case, "The Silent Death", is the next step for the attractive late-Wimmerian series Babylon Berlin. The seemingly exquisite setting of the film studios in Babelsberg, the advent of sound film, the escalating political situation, the impending stock market crash, and many other themes offer a truly extraordinary experience. Unfortunately, with such an ambitious project, you have to please everyone and everything and the final product is not consistent enough. When I looked at the book's premise, I realized that Volker Kutscher had basically written a simple linear retro crime novel with a naive romantic storyline. Viewers of the series unfamiliar with the book would be very surprised at how uncomplicated the prescribed romance between Gereon and Lotte is... We thus have to put all the extra credit on the filmmakers, who have a responsibility to the widest possible audience. Some of the episodes were great, others weaker, and the final double finale was very far-fetched. We did see the spectacular premiere of the late expressionist film Dämonen der Leidenschaft, which Lilian Harvey was also present at, but by far the strongest impression left on me was the legend of Hans Westmar, the future martyr of the NSDAP, inserted into the fictional story. (04.03.2020)

I must admit that the somewhat fragmented third season of the otherwise excellent German series Babylon Berlin was a bit disappointing. Enticed by the detailed story of the first and second seasons, my expectations were probably too high. Aside from the more banal detective plot, I was also disappointed that the romantic sparks between Gereon Rath and Charlotte Ritter suddenly seemed to vanish, so there wasn't much development in that regard either. Even musically it was weaker this time. It's a good thing that at least the impressive period atmosphere was preserved, and everything finally culminated appropriately in the ominous last episode. (65%) (16.10.2021)