Nor is it a pipe. (You either get or you don’t.)
IMDb meta-data is six episodes of 52-minutes each rated 7.0 by 1,500 cinematizens.
Genre: krimi.
DNA: Belgian.
Verdict: Eye candy.
Tagline: More is more!
A period drama evocative of Agatha Christie with the time and place but more opulent and bloody than any of the Dame’s tales. A gathering of household names to come of artists – Man Ray, René Magritte, Salvador Dalí, Lee Miller, Max Ernst with their partners – for a SURREAL art extravaganza leads to real murder and mayhem. The artists themselves become the art.
As bizarre as the artists and their art are, colourful as their infighting is, melodramatic as their star-turns are, the lavish setting steals the show. When the murders start, plod arrives from Ballykissangel (1996-1998) and sets to work.
Young Flemish Magritte (with a Walloon name) feels like an outsider and noses around. The others seem largely unaffected by the murders, or that could just be bad acting and hopeless direction. Even more bizarre turns and twists follow.
The star of the show is the setting in Art Deco mansion. I said ‘eye candy’ above but perhaps I should have said ‘eye caviar’ or ‘eye foie gras.’ Very rich.
The production confirms to current standards and is colour blind, unlike the 1930s and also seems to be gender blind. I found that distracting each time, but so be it.