Kleo

Netflix trailer: https://bit.ly/3mtHYtW

George Drakoulias told me to watch it.

First we had to finish "Shrinking," well at least everything but the last episode, had to wait until 3/4 to watch that, and then...

I trust George.

I was familiar with the show. But the buzz was mixed. And I passed.

So revisiting the data, I saw that it had a 100% critics rating on RottenTomatoes and a 62% audience score. That's my kind of show.

You can't trust the public when it comes to TV. Like the aforementioned "Shrinking"... Harrison Ford is good playing against type, and the young 'uns are good, very good, but Jason Segel... Does he ever get really mad? You think you like him, you think he's a good actor, but then he's compromised. As for Christa Miller... I'm a big fan, but I didn't even recognize her. This is just plain sad. She's had so much plastic surgery that she doesn't even resemble who she used to be. And the lips... I know, I know, I can't attack women's looks. But I point you to this recent article in the "Los Angeles Times":

"'This is me, this is my face': Actress Mimi Rogers on aging naturally, without cosmetic surgery": https://lat.ms/3kSdtNY

And Christa's husband is two-dimensional and "Shrinking" is a traditional sitcom, just a smidge better. It's no "Hacks," it's certainly no "Love Life," which you probably still haven't seen, because it was buried by HBO Max and there's no buzz, but I assure you, it's great.

Now "Shrinking" has 81/85 on RottenTomatoes, which kind of undercuts my point, but it's not 100%!

You see the public can't handle foreign, can't handle challenging, if it's not obvious, they're out. And call me an elitist and...I'll own it. As for all you doofuses who e-mail me that you love foreign flicks and... Do you think when I write this stuff I mentally poll each and every one of my subscribers? Not everything is about YOU!

So...

"Kleo" is a black comedy. Its most obvious analogue is the "Deutschland" series. Real life events re the fall of the Berlin Wall, but with a leavening of comedy.

"Kleo" too is a post-Wall story. But the weird thing is the main actress, Jella Haase, wasn't even born when the Wall came down. And that's weird, because it seems like yesterday to me.

So, Kleo is a Stasi assassin. But she is thrown into jail and she's there for a couple of years until the Wall falls, and then she looks for the person who is responsible for her incarceration. I know, I know, I've revealed some plot points, but the above is in each and every review. But really, it's not the specific plot points you watch for, even though they twist and turn and are fascinating, but Jella Haase herself.

Whew!

She's not Hollywood beautiful, not that she's not attractive. But she's intense. She's got a brain. And a sense of humor, you can't take your eyes off her. What does she feel, what is she going to do next, she sacrificed it all for the cause and..?

Well, now I'm gonna contradict myself, actually you do watch for the plot points. That's what makes the whole show hold together. And you're not exactly sure who is a good guy or gal, or who is not. And bumbling Sven Petzold... You come to like him too. You know, the company man who the company doesn't like. Who can't get ahead, because sometimes he's wrong, and when he's right, no one believes him!

But there's the tone. Sometimes deadly serious and other times funny.

"Kleo" is not a hard watch. But you do have to pay attention. You cannot multitask while watching it.

But unlike dreck like "Shrinking," you will be drawn in, you will feel you're part of the world.

Utterly fascinating.

BIG thumbs up!


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