The Golden Hour

If this was in English, it would be the talk of the town, one of, if not the biggest show of the holiday season. As it is, it's number 5 on Netflix right now, and I recommend it.

"The Golden Hour" is a Dutch show and you won't know what is going on at first, then it will become clear, and then you'll think it's just another genre piece, a well-done imitation of an American production, but at the end you'll think it's better than that.

Netflix is killing its competitors. And it's down to one thing and one thing only, product. The rest of the services don't have enough. Disney thought its brand was sufficient, that if you added new "Star Wars" productions to children's fare it'd be must-see TV.

But that's not how it works anymore. Because we no longer live in a monoculture. Even if "The Golden Hour" were the talk of the town, it wouldn't be anywhere near as big as a show in the three/four network world, even the cable world. Today there's so much product no one can consume it all, no one can get a grip. You forage and find what rings a bell...

Or you don't.

I found out about "The Golden Hour" from a reader. I checked the ratings, they were good, so I dove in.

So what we've got here is an Afghani guy on the Dutch police force who they think is a terrorist. You know, because you just can't trust someone who looks different from you. The cop's allegiance must be to Afghanistan, after all he went there recently. So, despite being married to a Dutch woman, and having a kid, he's not to be trusted, guilty until proven innocent.

And despite all of our nation's adventures in Afghanistan, the average American won't be clear what the beef is. That's half a world away, not in our ballpark. We've got to sit on the couch and get high and watch sports. But those abused people back there, they just can't get over it.

International TV is where it's at. Think about it, the U.S. is just one country, think of all the rest of the nations making television, and why should they make crappy television? Too many Americans see the rest of the world as backward, when that trope expired with the last century. They've got smartphones everywhere. And a cornucopia of entertainment offerings. And just like Depeche Mode sang, people are people. They just live somewhere else under different circumstances. International TV is eye-opening and educational, not as good as actually traveling to these countries, then again, how many Americans even have passports? We're so concerned with keeping people out that our eyes are shut as to what is really going on in the rest of the world.

And the production values of "The Golden Hour" are just as good as top-notch American ones. This is not the foreign flick of yore, all cerebral, made on a budget, with talking instead of action. You could remake this in America and it would be believable. But even after 9/11, even after 10/7, we think we're immune, that terrorism won't happen here. Unless maybe it's domestic terrorism.

As much as the right hates the left, that's how much certain people hate America. It's a delicate dance, keeping the States safe. As for burying our head in the ground, being isolated... Did you see that the U.S. is now buying Patriot missiles from Japan? How come people can't see that we live in an interconnected world. Wow, it's your responsibility to educate yourself. And you must peruse multiple sources. And you must be able to challenge your preconceptions.

The biggest story of the past two weeks, other than Trump being kicked off the ballot in Colorado, is how the right was right about college campuses.

The problem today is too many young people have not lived through the crises of the past. It's not only antisemitism, it's anti-vaccine hysteria. You'd think that vaccines were a nefarious plot to kill people. That the scientists and the government were in cahoots to take you out. You can't trust Big Pharma, you can't trust the government, everybody is corrupt.

But that is untrue. It's more chiaroscuro. Sure, Big Pharma has flaws, but it also creates life-saving drugs, which you're going to want, be begging for, if you're in the hospital. As for the government, starve it all you want, but then don't expect a handout when a natural disaster happens in your area, wiping out your assets.

But that's America, people live paycheck to paycheck, they're not prepared for the possible problem down the road. Like all the boomers who didn't save for retirement. They're never getting rid of Social Security, but the real story is you can't live on Social Security, that's the big issue. Expect more deaths of despair amongst oldsters in years to come.

Now this wouldn't be a diatribe about culture and politics if I thought "The Golden Hour" was a slam dunk. I'd rather rave unqualifiedly. But I can't.

Kinda like "A Murder at the End of the World." Boy was that disappointing in the end. When the characters start talking, explaining what is going on, moving the plot forward because it can't be shown, or won't be shown, that's when a series suffers.

But "The Golden Hour" is different. You'll be riveted. You won't know where it's going. And then you'll be disappointed because you're sure you know where it's going. But at the end you'll be left wondering.

"The Golden Hour" is intense. If you're the kind of person who can only watch upbeat TV, don't bother. But if you're aware that television is the number one art form in the world today, where story is king in a world where people live for story, I highly recommend it.

Go for the ride. It's quite a good one. It's gripping. And then it's over. And all you want to do is find another series. Not to escape, but to experience, to learn, to go down the rabbit hole and then resurface not being able to let go of what just went down.

All those lists of the top ten movies of the year... Think about it, the movie business is a disaster, it has not recovered from Covid, numbers are down, yet the critics and the outlets that feature them act like nothing's changed when everything has. Kind of like "Time" magazine's person of the year. When was the last time you read "Time," even saw it? In a world where "Sports Illustrated" articles are written by AI.

That's the story of today. You're in charge, across the board. There's no one person who can steer for you, clue you in as to what is going on. You've got to figure your path out for yourself. In music, television, politics... There's more information than ever before, and it's right at your fingertips. And the deeper you go the more exciting it becomes. Wow, I wish I grew up with the internet, I would have never been bored.

"The Golden Hour" is never boring. Put it on your holiday list.


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