Oliver Goldstick's "The Collection" is about a Paris fashion house resurfacing in the immediate aftermath of World War II. That gives it enough of two key dimensions to make a bid for a broader audience, and though middle-aged and male I count myself as one who came under its spell quite effectively ... as the episodes passed.
With chunks actually filmed in France; with an international ensemble of acting talent (not much actually French but plenty from different corners of Europe - including of all people that amazing big-screen protege of Kieslowski Irene Jacob!); and with some tremendous clothing on show against a mixed elegant- and-shabby background, "The Collection" makes a very good attempt at authenticity. The fact that American characters are also present here is a major further bonus, which allows at least some to stand back and rise above the inevitable French-on-French intrigues.
Enjoy the backstabbing - figurative and even literal (!), family splits and within- and between-firm conflicts; be both captivated and a little disgusted by the haute couture; and savour a post-War atmosphere in which a country getting back on its feet is only just beginning to paper over some pretty big cracks, and you might at some point begin to feel you are actually a fly on the wall enjoying a story unfold in very atmospheric circumstances.
While "The Collection" is not quite the exquisite and magnificent period French delight that is the Rowan Atkinson "Maigret", there is a touch of that here nonetheless, and of course quite a few aspects that the Maigret context did not reach. Most of us (Brits and Americans) find France a bit fascinating even as it is distinct, and it would be hard to leave 8 episodes of this show without coming to see - and even feel - why that might be so.
With chunks actually filmed in France; with an international ensemble of acting talent (not much actually French but plenty from different corners of Europe - including of all people that amazing big-screen protege of Kieslowski Irene Jacob!); and with some tremendous clothing on show against a mixed elegant- and-shabby background, "The Collection" makes a very good attempt at authenticity. The fact that American characters are also present here is a major further bonus, which allows at least some to stand back and rise above the inevitable French-on-French intrigues.
Enjoy the backstabbing - figurative and even literal (!), family splits and within- and between-firm conflicts; be both captivated and a little disgusted by the haute couture; and savour a post-War atmosphere in which a country getting back on its feet is only just beginning to paper over some pretty big cracks, and you might at some point begin to feel you are actually a fly on the wall enjoying a story unfold in very atmospheric circumstances.
While "The Collection" is not quite the exquisite and magnificent period French delight that is the Rowan Atkinson "Maigret", there is a touch of that here nonetheless, and of course quite a few aspects that the Maigret context did not reach. Most of us (Brits and Americans) find France a bit fascinating even as it is distinct, and it would be hard to leave 8 episodes of this show without coming to see - and even feel - why that might be so.