Review: Dark

Some people may see Dark as the sinister, German version of Stranger Things, but it's much more than that. In his first chapter he manages to make it very clear that it is a very complex plot, although it deals with a widely used theme such as time travel, it manages to give it that touch of originality that few people achieve when creating a story. Dark and Stranger Things have certain points in common as extensive use of child actors and both could be classified as excellent representatives of the science fiction/fantasy genre.

But their similarities end there. Stranger Things is a nostalgic series from the past, which winks at the viewer all the time with references to the era on which it is based. Dark likewise digs into the genre's past for references, but instead of showing them, he hides them in a narrative that focuses on a festival of references but a carefully written science work down to the smallest detail.

Dark introduces, like many series and movies, a science fiction concept that unfolds in a small town as a resource to narrate its interpersonal drama. In the German series, the existence of a method of time travel hidden in Winden's womb is the trigger for a new problem and the driver to its solution.

After the disappearance of the young Mikkel, each chapter piles its mysteries on each other, giving tension to family and neighbor conflicts, as well as the experience of the viewer. For this reason, it is not worth saying much about each narrative point of the series, since much of the pleasure of seeing its first season comes from the twists and turns and narrative tricks. The feeling of knowing more is what keeps you informed of everything that happens on the screen.

In Dark the questions are open, and we will have to go deep into the series to find the first answer rubble.

As the episodes progress, a large cast is built consisting of the family trees of three or four connected families, whose destinies intertwine over and over again for generations. This can be confusing at first, making it difficult to follow every member of the Doppler, the Nielsen, the Kahnwald, and the Tiedemann. Short scenes of visual "visual aid" are exposed from time to time to clarify the relationships between the characters that are related through space and time, but at times, I paused the episode to connect well the story of each character.

The gigantic cast of actors fit each one very well into their roles. Other is to highlight the excellent precision in the choice of characters in their past and present incarnations. The adolescent and child actors express the emotions of their characters in a somewhat strange internal and contained way, since most of us are used to seeing American or local productions, where it is believed that childhood should be acted out in emotional explosions. Although this difference probably has more to do with the different methods of action in each region.

Director Baran bo Odar and cinematographer Nikolaus Summerer film the town of Winden with particular beauty. The beautiful photograph captures every little corner of the city with an artistic and dark eye.

The village setting is relatively small, but is accurately recreated over time. Houses, cars, clothing, makeup and props are carefully placed, designing each era in detail. Although its locations are a bit limited, when we explore its different eras, we can appreciate the similarities and differences that time guides.

This temporary game is essential in the series edition, which makes time jumps a narrative delight. Divided screens and various visual resources are the means that manages to interweave a plot that unfolds simultaneously at different time points. Part of what Dark has to offer implicitly follows from the differences and similarities in how people treat others in past and present times.

The image bill is complemented by a sound design that matches, or even exceeds. The series consists of an impressionistic soundtrack that manages to catch you every moment that it begins to sound. It adds a lot more suspense and adds more investment when watching an episode.

Dark is a series that contains many mysteries, some difficult to solve, so much so that there is an official page that serves as a guide to guide you in its complexity. So far I have only seen its first season, I know it will take a long time to see it but I was waiting for it to end, and I am just orienting myself in its tangled "universe". It is a very good series, with a surprising audiovisual section.

Dark handles the issue of time travel in a very peculiar way, using them in ways not seen before in terms of what it represents. It is highly recommended to see it if you have not, although I think many of you already have.