Recommended Viewing

For quite a few years I have been receiving DVDs as a subscriber to Netflix.  I think the selection of discs is far better than what they offer on streaming, especially if you like old, classic movies.  So, I do not pay extra for the streaming service.  However, there are some newer series that are not available on discs.  On my last trip to Mexico, Alejandro put me on his account.  I connected my laptop to my TV set, and now I have the best of both worlds.  I have been watching two very good series, one available only on discs, and the other available only on streaming.


On discs I am watching a French series (with English subtitles) called "A French Village".

(image taken from the web)

It first appeared on French television between 2009 and 2017 and was a big hit there.  It takes place in a fictional village during the years of the Nazi occupation of France (1940-1945).  There is large cast of characters... including a school teacher who has fallen in love with a German soldier, a farmer's wife who is having an affair with a local businessman, a doctor who has had the position of mayor thrust upon him, and the chief of police and his Jewish mistress who are both working with the Resistance.  The entire series consists of 26 discs.  I just completed the fourth disc, so I have a long way to go.  The story lines are quite compelling, and the acting is excellent.  So far I have enjoyed it very much.



From Alejandro's Netflix account I have been streaming a series from Spain called "Gran Hotel".  It appeared on Spanish television for three seasons between 2011 and 2013.  It inspired similar series in Mexico and the U.S., but neither enjoyed the success of the original.

(image taken from the web)

Apparently this series is (or was) also available on Netflix accounts in the U.S. because it was my cousin who first recommended it to me.  It is not available on Netflix discs however.

The story takes place in a luxury hotel in Spain in the early years of the 20th century.  It revolves around the dirty secrets of the family that owns the hotel and the servants.   You might say that it's a bit like a Spanish "Downton Abbey" except that the majority of these characters are nasty, conniving people.  Two of the likeable characters are Alicia, the daughter of the hotel owner, and Julio, a waiter who is in love with her. (Shown at the top of the picture above.)   The police inspector who is investigating a number of murders is clearly inspired by Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot.  In fact, in the episode I was recently watching, a minor character was introduced... an young English woman named Agatha who is fascinated with the goings-on at the hotel.  She is obviously supposed to be Agatha Christie before she gained fame as a mystery writer.

The series is most definitely a soap opera with a convoluted plot.  And you can always count on the fact that when a couple of the characters are plotting a scheme, or discussing the family's dirty laundry, there is always someone who just happens to overhear them.  It is, however, a well acted and enjoyable series.  I am currently about half-way through the second season.  I am looking forward to seeing some of the nasty people get their comeuppance and for Alicia to somehow extricate herself from her treacherous husband and find true love with Julio.

While doing some research on the series, I learned that the building that serves as the "gran hotel" is a former royal palace, the Palacio de la Magdalena, located in the city of Santander in northern Spain.

(Image taken from the web)