movies, series

1905

Kingdom (TV Series 2019– )

spacetime coordinates: Set during Korea’s Joseon Dynasty, three years after the Imjin War. (the Japanese invasions of Korea 1592–1598 – three years after the famous “Battle of Unpo Wetland”)

kingdom

Kingdom (Korean: 킹덤; RR: Kingdeom) is a 2019 South Korean political period horror thriller streaming television series, created and written by Kim Eun-hee and directed by Kim Seong-hun and Park In-je. The series is adapted from the webcomic series The Kingdom of the Gods, which was authored by Kim Eun-hee and drawn by Yang Kyung-il.

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Set on a fictional, medieval-inspired Joseon, Kingdom explores the story of a Crown Prince, as he sets to investigate the source of a mysterious plague that begins to ravage his country. It stars Ju Ji-hoonRyu Seung-ryongBae Doo-naKim Sang-hoKim Sung-kyu and Kim Hye-jun. // wiki // imdb)

A special feature-length episode of the series, titled

Kingdom: Ashin of the North (TV Episode 2021)

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was released on July 23, 2021 and focused on the supporting character Ashin played by Jun Ji-hyun.

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The episode acts as a sidequel to the second season of Kingdom and explores the backstory of Ashin, the mysterious heir of the Northern Seongjeoyain tribe village, and the origin of the resurrection plant that triggered an unprecedented cascade of tragic events that swept through the Kingdom of Joseon. // wiki // imdb

series

1903 – 1983 (2018 TV Mini Series)

spacetime coordinates: set in an alternate timeline in which the fall of the communist Polish People’s Republic never happened, and the Iron Curtain is still in place. / set in 2003; a coordinated terrorist attack on multiple sites took place in Poland in 1983 which altered the course of history and the Cold War did not end.

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1983 was particularly appreciated by critics for its photography and atmosphere. The directors create a gloomy and cold Warsaw, where old Soviet-style apartment blocks stand side by side with futuristic and imposing government and police buildings, equipped with the most modern instruments of control. The secret services of the SB now use computer surveillance mechanisms, tracking cell phones and digitizing citizens’ data (classified according to their “level of danger”).

Society is run by the “Party”, a privileged elite who enjoy a good education and excellent economic status. The rest of the population is disinterested in politics and devote themselves to consumerism, at least as regards those goods that are not censored or prohibited. Opposing this system is the “Brigade of Light”, a group of young people who carry out resistance to the dictatorship in clandestinity.

Poland is then imagined to have seen massive immigration from Indochina, and in particular from the socialist republic of Vietnam. Some night scenes – set in overcrowded Asian neighborhoods – seem like a reference to the Blade Runner movie.

It is curious that there are very few explicit references to communism in the series (no statue of Lenin in the streets, no red star or revolutionary chant). The regime appears to have created an Orwellian state, whose sole ideological goal is the suppression of dissent and the control of individuals.

In this sense, it seems that directors are making a more general criticism of any form of totalitarianism, police regime and society-induced conformism. Agnieszka Holland herself underlines how the contents of 1983 are also current in Western countries, in contingency with the current crisis of democracy and the emergence of what the director describes as “a conservative counter-revolution”. She says in the same interview with The Guardian: “But the real questions are: maybe these people are happy? Maybe freedom is overrated?” (wiki)


1983 is a Polish crime drama streaming television series created and written by Joshua Long and based on an original idea by Long and Maciej Musiał, produced for and released by Netflix on 30 November 2018. A second season is being considered.

imdb   /   rottentomatoes

series

1902 – The First (2018 TV series)

spacetime coordinates: New Orleans, Louisiana 2033 – 2035

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The First is a drama television series portraying a team of astronauts who prepare to become the first humans to visit Mars, created by Beau Willimon and starring an ensemble cast including Sean PennNatascha McElhone, Anna Jacoby-Heron, LisaGay HamiltonHannah WareKeiko Agena, Rey Lucas, James Ransone, Brian Lee Franklin, Oded FehrNorbert Leo ButzAnnie ParisseMelissa GeorgeJeannie Berlin, and Bill Camp. The series, a co-production between American streaming service Hulu and British television network Channel 4, debuted on September 14, 2018 in the United States and on November 1, 2018 in the United Kingdom. On January 18, 2019, Hulu canceled the series after one season. (wiki)

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movies

1901 – How It Ends (2021)

spacetime coordinates: 2020, LA

How It Ends is a 2021 American comedy-drama film written, directed, and produced by Zoe Lister-Jones and her husband Daryl Wein. It stars Lister-Jones, Cailee SpaenyOlivia WildeFred ArmisenHelen HuntLamorne Morris and Nick Kroll. Filmed during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 (wiki)

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movies

1900 – Blood Red Sky (2021)

Blood Red Sky (also known as Transatlantic 473) is a 2021 German-British action horror film directed by Peter Thorwarth, who co-wrote the screenplay with Stefan Holtz. The film stars Peri BaumeisterRoland Møller, Chidi Ajufo and Alexander Scheer. It was released on 23 July 2021 by Netflix. (wiki)

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imdb   /   rottentomatoes

series

1899 – La Révolution (TV Series 2020)

spacetime coordinates: 1787. Amid the decadence of the Ancien RégimeJoseph Ignace Guillotin is responsible for investigating mysterious murders. He then discovers the existence of “blue blood”. This unknown virus spreads within the aristocracy. The virus has devastating effects: the infected nobles attack the “little people“, upsetting the established hierarchy. The revolt spreads and is the prelude to the French Revolution.

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La Révolution is a 2020 French-language supernatural drama series produced by Netflix starring Doudou Masta, Julien Sarazin and Ian Turiak. In January 2021, the series was canceled after one season. (wiki)

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