Film: Biohackers
Starring: Luna Wedler, Jessica Schwarz, Adrian Julius Tillmann, Thomas Prenn, Jing Xiang, Caro Cult, Sebastian Jakob Doppelbauer
Creator: Christian Ditter
Rating: ***
Reviewer: George Sylex
Overview - The first scene of 'Biohackers', Netflix's new German series, is one that is hard to forget. On a train ride, a female passenger sleeps soundly when someone asks for help and asks if there are any doctors on board. The young woman wears a necklace with the name, 'Mia', identifies herself as a medical student and will help the man suffering from a heart attack. Then a woman begins to experience the same symptoms. In a matter of seconds, all the passengers on that car are lying on the floor — including Mia's supposed boyfriend. Everyone but her.
The claustrophobic opening scene that suggests a sudden outbreak of a pandemic has nothing to do with the corona virus. Although at first it may seem that this is the truth of the series, then it goes on to very different subjects. We are talking about synthetic biology, genetic mutation and the limit of ethics, a path that begins two weeks before the event on the train. It is at this moment that Mia meets her eccentric roommates, before starting her medical studies at the renowned University of Freiburg.
Created by Christian Ditter (' How to Be Single ', 'Simply Happen', 'Girlboss '), ' Biohackers ' moves far from the director's previous comedies and novels, and navigates a tortuous path of a thriller that delves to the limit of ethics in the study of genetics. The protagonist, Mia (Luna Wedler), soon makes it clears that she has an objective in that college beyond her passion for medicine. Your goal is to find the famous teacher Tanja Lorenz (Jessica Schwarz), and a clash between them is clear from the first episode.
The pilot's frantic pace, in fact, is captivating due to an agile and optimistic soundtrack which runs alongside the sarcastic personality of our protagonist. She's smart, and she knows it, but she also hides her gifts in a kind of false modesty that makes her a person that you would easily underestimate and let go of wherever you want, before realizing that she is more than you had supposed. Her secrets, and what led her to the university, and Lorenz, are related to her family and a twin brother whose existence she hides.
Although more driven by curiosity around the mysteries, ' Biohackers ' also relies heavily on Wedler's charisma as the main character. The tangle of information gradually fits into place and compose what is a thriller and suspense with intriguing hints of drama, and a philosophical debate about medicine, religion and the act of “playing God.” Mia's dispute with Lorenz, unconventional flatmates, a love triangle, family secrets and the endless possibilities that arise from research and genetic hack. Eventually, it all fits together.
Stream or Skip? Biohackers establishes itself within the line of German productions of the streaming giant that win the world with charisma and universal issues. The hook of the final episode paves the way for a new mystery in the potential second year, and may even frustrate you by leaving a big question unanswered, but it also shows there is a deeper perspective than heroes and villains with a marked place.
Don't Expect a 'Dark' from Germany!
