Black Earth Rising (Television Series); Created by Hugo Blick; BBC Two; Netflix; First episode date: September 10, 2018
Television Shorts
BLACK EARTH RISING:
...is a tough one to call because it's nearly impossible to categorize it, though it falls within the Political Intrigue genre. It is not a thriller due to pacing and the payoff of several mysteries revealed with two episodes to go. The seventh and final, eighth, episodes were not expected and somewhat anti-climatic.
There is so much to love and be surprised by, particularly the post-modern aesthetics used to tell a War Crime story based on the Rwandan Genocide (1994). The overall story is remarkable but the scriptwriting is stilted which impacts the actors' performance.
Black Earth Rising is full of symbolism, particularly via the characters, and this might be its strongest aspect yet it would take many viewings and a longer review to fully go into them.
Recommended viewing but it's your call to make as far as the number of stars.
Recommendation: MEDIUM-HIGH
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Reviewed by Guichard Cadet
