Als de Dijken Breken (2016)

Sometimes God sends a deluge on mankind to test us. That the choice is raised in which suicide/euthanasia seem to be the only way out. That a faithful mistress is washed away leaving an adulterous husband stuck with his wife and children. That a politician has to accept that there are higher powers than Dutch politics or the European Union, but that God the father watches over us in times of need and disaster. That a dutiful prison guard and an aggressive inmate face the fact that they cannot or should not always want to protect their family. It is an outdated world view that you only see in maligned American productions such as 'God's not Dead'.

'If the Dykes Break' (2016) has an irritating evangelical agenda, which addresses important social issues such as the refugee problem and distrust in politics and the rule of law. It's not that religious themes are touched upon that I ultimately dislike, but the way it simplifies current affairs by pushing religious values (forgiveness, family, marital fidelity) down your throat, becomes distasteful over the course of the series. I don't really understand what Aart Staartjes, Bianca Krijgsman, Gijs Scholten van Aschat and Susan Visser are doing here. Also because a series with a high budget is finally produced, but then it turns out to be an expensive sermon for their own EO parish.

Translated from Dutch · View original

It's been a while since I saw such a workable concept thrown to such a mediocre end result. The intriguing premise (what if the Netherlands loses the eternal battle against the water and half of the country is flooded?) provides a number of frightening scenes and impressive images in the first three episodes, but after that the drama flattens out and considered the relationships between characters more important than the circumstances they struggle with. Perhaps that could have worked if these characters had some involvement in the aftermath of the disaster (as in Chernobyl), but unfortunately, all but a few are quite normal people, who do not trade in sympathetic characters. character traits. In addition, we see little of the aid (do we no longer have rich neighbors with whom we are good friends?) or the state of the country (the busy highways give the impression that everything is as usual). And instead of coming up with concrete solutions for the acute problems, it seems that reconstruction of the country should be considered immediately. As if bodies are still being pulled from under the rubble of the Twin Towers and people are already bickering about what the Freedom Tower should look like...

Translated from Dutch · View original