The Leftovers

The Leftovers are similar to the French Les Revenants. It is also about the consequences of the mysterious phenomenon that affected ordinary people and about losing it and coping with it; whether the characters were influenced directly or indirectly. It is also heavy, intimate, psycho(logical), inconsolably melancholic and very depressing, about people who are fucked up in one way or another, but do not live a life, but rather simply exist without the prospect of a better future. And everyone has a legitimate reason for this (and we gradually find out all about it). It's entirely about living characters that you will give a damn about. If you expect or perhaps demand a replacement for Lost (and it is true that on paper the combination of Lindelof and the “two percent of the population" being missing may raise these expectations) in other words a series that is in the box of mysterious sci-fi, which deals with "how and why", I would rather recommend you to watch FlashForward because you will not find out and it was not even the intention of the creators. In any case, the creators made full use of the original idea and they managed to create the impression that "if two random percent of the world's population inexplicably vanished overnight, three years later this will be the plight of ordinary people in small town USA". Everyone will seek an answer, whether in the church, in different cults that are rapidly emerging, in nihilism, in drugs, conspiracies or in pretending that "nothing had happened". The credibility of science fiction (if you insist on calling this science fiction) is in seemingly insignificant details, in matters not explicitly stated, but incorporated in such a way that create a functioning society. And in this respect, The Leftovers is unrivaled; whether you take the movie as science fiction, satire on the American dream or perhaps an allegory of the world after 9/11, The Leftovers are convincing. And it’s unrivaled in other respect too… In emotional experience; you won’t find another so non-superficial (perhaps nowhere else than in HBO's production would the brave step not to make episode nine the pilot not have been approved; it makes perfect sense, because it's much more impressive and overwhelming) emotion-drainer anywhere. Season two and three then unexpectedly and nicely change the style, even the genre to some extent and the overall focus. It is indisputable that these seasons are a lot tighter, much more is happening (and it makes sense), this pure "cinema" at the peak of serial production, it draws on your emotions like nothing you’ve ever encountered and so I can’t fault it one bit. But personally, I somehow liked more the first season about ordinary people from the middle of nowhere rather than the other two about people (seemingly and from their point of view) in the center of all "existential" events. In any case, all the seasons are magnificent and so unique that you will not find anything like it. The finale scene is simply excellent and aptly follows the essence of the whole series in terms of "the necessity of any kind of answer, even a cheap religious (or not) explanation, within us, versus the impossibility of answers and eternal uncertainty". | S1: 5/5 | S2: 4/5 | S3: 4/5 (20.10.2014) (weniger) (mehr)