The Gliwensbourg Chronicles

A French period drama fantasy adventure web series written and directed by Emilie Tommasi and starring Arnaud Thery, Laurent Brebion, Myriam Caucheteux, Lahcen Ait Ouali and Dominique Deroide.

This review concerns the first season that consists of seven episodes, individually titled.

During World War I, a French soldier (Thery) finds himself inside an underground tunnel that takes him from the battlefield to the Gliwensbourg village, several years into the future, in 1925. Suffering from amnesia, not even remembering his own name, he unwillingly gets involved in the villages's issues and the tensions between its people.

Regarding the mise-en-scene, this series gains a lot with the period clothing, structures and weaponry looking genuine. And the music is arguably a highlight, with Guillaume Wilmot developing a score that creates a sort of Western atmosphere. Plus the editing is a standout, with frequent methodical uses of swipe techniques.

The thing here is that there are many characters and therefore, a lot to keep track of in order to keep up with the narrative. There are several groups of people in the village, including a group living in a Moroccan camp nearby. Some of them are The Macaronis, The Melons and The Flemishs, each with their own problems and goals. What is intriguing in all this? That is hard to determine as what primarily takes place in one argument after another, with people withing a group arguing among themselves about this and that or groups arguing with other groups. Verbal altercations, the unknown soldier caught in the middle of it and a plot that moves gradually.

The soldier mentioned above is a seemingly ordinary man who has magically found himself in another time and place. A well-meaning guy, he just wants to get back to his life and stay out of trouble. Schwartz (played by Brebion) stands out as an aggressive leader and so does Caucheteux as a woman with strong leadeship skills. The Moroccans come across as the wisest people in this story, with Ashraf as the one in charge and the mysterious Lala, a woman who apparently can communicate with spirits.

This story is much about conflict, about people fighting for their causes. It is about politics, injustice and making things right.

Seven episodes filled with confrontations and a narrative that is pushed aside and all seven do not have much content that significantly differentiates them from the rest. The way things go so far do not encourage a second season to be met with much anticipation.