Warning : I've only watched the first season, I hope to watch the later seasons if and when I find the leisure. As a result this review will be limited in scope.
I watched the first season with growing pleasure. It got better as it progressed : it grew funnier, wilder, deeper. By the time the season's finale arrived I was rubbing my hands with glee, expecting narrative fireworks. Sadly my viewing pleasure was undone by some rushed and implausible twists, meant to pave the way to an happy end of the most conventional kind. If you watch the episode, you'll know what I mean. It's somewhat like being a child, listening to a riveting fairytale and then hearing the adult say : "The witch donned her sable-black nightingale cloak, looked at the third prince and.. And... The good fairy waved her magic wand and they all lived happily ever after. Almost forgot my appointment at the hairdresser's, hope I'm not too late".
But for this disappointment I would award "Grow your own" nine or even ten stars, since this is a playful, inventive tragicomedy with an intelligent screenplay and fine performances. (Special thanks to Rhoda Montemayor, Maaike Cafmeyer and, especially, Sien Eggers, who is stellar.) The series is also deeply, quintessentially Belgian : watching it is like stepping into a kitchen where someone is preparing black blood sausages, baked potatoes and apple sauce. Do tuck in...
It was a stroke of genius to set the series in West-Flanders. To begin with, this is a nice riff on the clichéd reputation of West-Flandrians, who are supposed to be conservative, modest, hard-working and close to nature. As a result there is good fun to be had when some of these simple sons of the soil set up an insanely sophisticated cannabis plantation. Secondly, the setting allows clever jokes about things lost (and found) in translation, what with characters switching from West-Flandrian dialect to standard Dutch and/or egregiously awful English. Lastly, there are the many war monuments and cemeteries dotting the landscape, which serve as a reminder that these fields and villages are drenched in deepest horror. There is a metaphor or allegory here : Man's short life will end in death and Man knows it, causing o so many souls to seek temporary oblivion or escape in dreams and visions.
Finally a word of caution. The series is best watched by persons with at least a working knowledge of English, Dutch and West-Flandrian dialect. Other viewers will miss out on a lot of the jokes or nuances.
I watched the first season with growing pleasure. It got better as it progressed : it grew funnier, wilder, deeper. By the time the season's finale arrived I was rubbing my hands with glee, expecting narrative fireworks. Sadly my viewing pleasure was undone by some rushed and implausible twists, meant to pave the way to an happy end of the most conventional kind. If you watch the episode, you'll know what I mean. It's somewhat like being a child, listening to a riveting fairytale and then hearing the adult say : "The witch donned her sable-black nightingale cloak, looked at the third prince and.. And... The good fairy waved her magic wand and they all lived happily ever after. Almost forgot my appointment at the hairdresser's, hope I'm not too late".
But for this disappointment I would award "Grow your own" nine or even ten stars, since this is a playful, inventive tragicomedy with an intelligent screenplay and fine performances. (Special thanks to Rhoda Montemayor, Maaike Cafmeyer and, especially, Sien Eggers, who is stellar.) The series is also deeply, quintessentially Belgian : watching it is like stepping into a kitchen where someone is preparing black blood sausages, baked potatoes and apple sauce. Do tuck in...
It was a stroke of genius to set the series in West-Flanders. To begin with, this is a nice riff on the clichéd reputation of West-Flandrians, who are supposed to be conservative, modest, hard-working and close to nature. As a result there is good fun to be had when some of these simple sons of the soil set up an insanely sophisticated cannabis plantation. Secondly, the setting allows clever jokes about things lost (and found) in translation, what with characters switching from West-Flandrian dialect to standard Dutch and/or egregiously awful English. Lastly, there are the many war monuments and cemeteries dotting the landscape, which serve as a reminder that these fields and villages are drenched in deepest horror. There is a metaphor or allegory here : Man's short life will end in death and Man knows it, causing o so many souls to seek temporary oblivion or escape in dreams and visions.
Finally a word of caution. The series is best watched by persons with at least a working knowledge of English, Dutch and West-Flandrian dialect. Other viewers will miss out on a lot of the jokes or nuances.