Even though I prefer stirring, squeaking, and shaking TV, I totally understand why viewers often opt for heartwarming series populated by benevolent characters that don’t fall under the bullets of a mad shooter.
The blue Hour, That was it. Help Beatrice too. The perfect moments, which is still seeking its own rhythm, also digs this furrow of kindness and “pure happiness”, the French equivalent of “feel good”. These cuddly shows warm the heart and envelop us in their luminous images, lulled by Brooklyn café-like folk music.
The great novelty of Club illico, which is called We, follows this stream of sweet and endearing TV. It is a choral soap opera Yamaska (from the same producers) who follows twenties as well as their parents, with several family secrets to the key. Club illico posted the first six episodes online on Thursday and six more will follow on January 20.
Finding after watching three hours of We ? It is very slow. May be too much. The first episode of We, if it had been broadcast on TVA, would not have attracted so many fans.
The distribution sparks, directed by Yannick Savard (Trapped) throws in, but, but, but, a big bait is missing to hook us.
The burst supply will save We of the big dropout, I think. Rendered in the third episode, after several convolutions, the series finally catches us in its nets. But what happened in the spring of 1997 that two loving families were still upset 24 years later? This is the common thread of Dominick Parenteau-Lebœuf’s story (Salmigondis, Knock Knock knock).
We refers to an industrial building in the Saint-Henri district – the Northern Fixtures – which has been converted into lofts and offices. As the Northern Fixtures sign has been washed out over time, only the letters NOUS remain clearly visible, hence its nickname: the Nous building.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY CLUB ILLICO
Chanel Mings, Nicolas Fontaine, Laetitia Isambert, Kevin Ranély and Marianne Fortier are the young stars of the series We.
Five twenty-year-olds will meet in the corridors of this very special building. There’s Camille (Marianne Fortier), a dental student returning from a four month trip to South America. There is barista Thibaud (Kevin Ranély) still broke. There is the DJ and musician Margaux (Laetitia Lambert). There is Anaïs (Chanel Mings), future architect and apprentice tarot drawer. And there is Alexis (Nicolas Fontaine), an urban greenhouse employee and artist who makes Karine Gibouleau miniatures.
In the second episode, these five 23-year-old young adults find themselves stuck in the elevator of their building and discover that they were all born around the same date, in June 1997, in the same hospital. Coincidence? Surely not.
Series We flirts with esotericism, because the fortune-teller Anaïs has gifts of clairvoyance, which her grandmother (Monique Spaziani) passed on to her. For the moment, this supernatural aspect does not clash too much with the hyperrealistic intrigues of the work. The line remains thin, however, especially when Anaïs has visions, it could become bizarre or incongruous.
Parents in We bear the heaviness of history. Apparently, Élise Guilbault and Marc Béland form a couple of Montreal bobos united and in love. She is an orthodontist and he is an engineer. Their daughter Camille lives in the same duplex as them and she is thinking of taking over the family’s dental practice.
Except that a drama is brewing. The character of Élise Guilbault has a secret and painful link with that of Macha Limonchik, who is dying of cancer. One wants out the bad guy, the other doesn’t. And it eats away at them.
Among the other actors of We, you will see Louis Champagne, Patrick Goyette, Louise Latraverse, Philippe Thibault-Denis, Isabelle Vincent, Jean-Moïse Martin, Ted Pluviose, Luc Guérin and Myriam Leblanc. Big caliber.
Parenthesis on Myriam Leblanc: damn that she is good as a mother in debt in All the life at Radio-Canada. For Tuesday’s fall finale, which was as hard-hitting as it could be, she again stole the show with her character of scheming and manipulative badly shouted out. She’s great.
Now do We worth our listening time, when the offer on the platforms abounds? It depends on your mood. If you’re looking for solid suspense or a series that will get you hooked onscreen, this really isn’t for you.
There ain’t no ugly, crooked, or maniac in We. So if you prefer to relax in front of your TV with a cup of tea, We will meet your cocooning needs, rolled up tightly in a warm blanket.