Undone

A mind-bending mindfuck. What you will first find interesting is the distinctive graphic stylization (using slightly sloppy rotoscoping), which you need to get used to for a while. However, this is not a gimmick. Rather, it is used for a reason, because it makes every portrayal and perception of dreamy (non-)reality work absolutely magnificently. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, because Undone is about Alma, a kindergarten teacher and her problems with her mother, sister, friend, job, herself, family history / predisposition to mental illness, moods, relationships, emotions and... Simply put, Alma is one of the most vital female characters in all quality TV production. In the category of “outrageously sympathetic sarcastic bitch", she is unrivaled. And it's not just about her. It would even work really well as a pure drama without the “extra something". But that “extra something" is present here. And in significant amounts. Alma enters a whole new world thanks to a serious car accident. She begins to perceive space-time in four dimensions. And this is where the sophisticated game with the viewer begins, where the creators very consciously juggle many balls (is she still in a coma? Has she stopped taking her meds and sunk into the depths of her madness? Is it really sci-fi based on shamanic experiences?). We will notice that in a certain type of scene, Alma always wears specific clothes and shoes. You will look at Alma both from her point of view as an unreliable narrator and from the outside, from the point of view of the characters close to her. And what a form. There is basically nothing more difficult than “filming" the (il)logic and (non-)continuity of dream (il)logic. Despite the fact that it basically doesn't make sense, as the setting, characters and events change, it nevertheless follows a logical connecting storyline, which paradoxically makes sense. Many have tried, but who has ever really succeeded? Gondry in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is an exception. However, it looks like a piece of cake for the creators of Undone. And they never, not for a moment, forget the fact that it is mainly and above all about Alma and not about holotropic traveling through space and time. | S1: 5/5 | (16.02.2020)