Our take
Babylon Berlin is mostly an intriguing spy thriller with both the sleekness and the style of the Golden Twenties, but what makes it stand out is the way it depicts the inevitability of the country’s upcoming struggles, as well as the hope it held in itself to reach a brighter future, with the new millennium. It’s a pretty brilliant concept. Through the eyes of its alternate protagonists, the show depicts Berlin polarized by two ideologies, and it keeps this context to drive Inspector Gereon Rath’s investigation, with the help of police clerk and flapper in the underground Charlotte Ritter. While the later seasons lost a bit of its edge, Babylon Berlin nevertheless paints a new perspective of the capital that once was at the forefront of art and science.
What it won
European Film Awards
1 win
The story
Beneath the decadence of 1929 Berlin, lies an underworld city of sin. Police investigator Gereon Rath has been transferred from Cologne to the epicenter of political and social changes in the Golden Twenties.
Elsewhere
"Part noir, part spy thriller, part historical portrait, Babylon Berlin's characters are striking enough that you're happy to follow along, even when you're not super clear on what exactly is happening."
— Kathryn VanArendonk
Weimar Republic, 1929. Shellshocked from his service during World War I, Colognian Inspector Gereon Rath investigates an international conspiracy, leading him to Berlin, the epicenter of political and social changes in the Golden Twenties.
The performances.
Honestly, the Art Deco title card itself was so good that I just had to continue watching.
The details
Streaming arrival
Who picked it
Isabella Endrinal is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. She's now free from the corporate night shift. Previous articles have been published in outlets such as NANG Magazine. She's currently catching up on some classic films… if she isn't coping with the fact that the Haikyu anime will end soon.
