Netflix trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSAx12d3Rho
This is not for the faint of heart. Felice cut bait after one episode. But if you like your entertainment dark and visceral, this is your ticket.
"Rivers of Fate" is set in Brazil. And French Guiana. And life couldn't be more different from America. The standard of living is not high and lawlessness rules. If you're dependent on the police, you're SOL. They're just trying to make the trains run on time, they're not up for solving the problem. And there's so much nefarious activity transpiring that it cannot be combatted.
You start on the river. This landscape is totally foreign. With travelers and thieves making their way. There are restaurants in the middle of the water. The big city is just a boat ride away, but despite infrastructure, things are not much better there. Who can you trust. Can you trust anybody?
A girl commits a modern faux pas. The kind you read about. And her parents punish her for this. And you know there will be consequences. Boy, are there.
And everybody's out for themselves, everybody's trying to get ahead. And no one is looking out for the lost and downtrodden. You're on your own. Janalice was going to school and living a safe life, and then...
Man, this made me thankful I wasn't a woman. I was walking in a parking structure close to midnight last night and I was anxious. But if I was female?
The men in "Rivers of Fate" are not constricted by the mores of America. Seems like everybody is willing to bend the rules and get theirs.
So we've got Janalice, a gang, human traffickers, multiple stories happening at once, but the series is completely comprehensible.
It's shot in the modern way... In that the cinematography and editor are right up front, right there with the story. The effects, the cuts... But in this case it's not for humor, like so many American productions, it just adds to the intensity.
"Rivers of Fate" is from the team that brought you "City of God." If that was too much for you, don't even start this four episode series. But if you thought that film was art, far from the dreck produced by the studios, you need to check this series out.
There's a ton of action. And many themes, not that you have to analyze, you can just go with the flow. It never devolves to cops and robbers, but lives are on the line, and just about everybody is corrupt. And the good guys don't always triumph, never mind live, and...
There is no buzz on this series. But it's right there, available on Netflix. It's got an 83 critics' rating on RottenTomatoes, and no audience rating whatsoever. Now that I'm done, I'm not exactly sure whether "Rivers of Fate" was great or a bit too pulpy. But one thing is for sure, I was riveted.
Watch a bit and you'll get an idea.
But be forewarned, it only gets more edgy and intense, more visceral. But if you're looking for something to take you away this is it.
Assuming you can handle it.
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