Tribes of Europa: At the decisive moment, the series runs out of courage

Tribes of Europe
At the crucial moment, the series runs out of courage

Liv (Henriette Confurius) and Elja (David Ali Rashed) are separated when the Crows attack.

© Netflix / Gordon Timpen

With "Tribes of Europa" the next German sci-fi series starts on Netflix after "Dark". Has there been a similar hype on her?

The German Netflix series "Tribes of Europa", which will be available from the streaming provider from February 19, carries you off into a gloomy future. Various groups, the eponymous "Tribes", set out on the hunt for a powerful artifact that could throw the new, fragile world order out of balance forever. The ambitious project is nice to look at, but at best it knows how to surprise absolute sci-fi newbies – after all, "Mad Max" has been around for over 40 years …

"Batsch – light out and darkness" – that's what it's about

In the year 2074, today's high-tech civilization is little more than a fable told to unbelieving children around the campfire. In "Black December" in the year 2029, a mysterious cyber attack led to the end of the world as we know it. The population of the European continent thinned to a few million people who reorganized themselves in micro-states, the so-called tribes. So do the peaceful Origines. As the name suggests, they live in harmony with nature and largely renounce the forms of technology that have made it into the new era.

But one day their withdrawn life changes suddenly: The three siblings Liv (Henriette Confurius, 30), Kiano (Emilio Sakraya, 24) and Elja (David Ali Rashed, 18) witness how a plane of the legendary Atlanteans in their forest crashes – along with a valuable artifact. Because despite the blackout, the Atlanteans still enjoy the latest technology. A circumstance that in turn calls the warlike tribe of the Crows on the scene. When they get wind of the fact that the secret of subjugating technology seems to be within reach, they mobilize their armed forces – and destroy any tribe unlucky enough to be in the way.

The courage for German dystopia

With the diversity of German mainstream productions, it's been a thing for a while. In the land of poets and thinkers, the film industry evidently became convinced that at least the words "romantic" or "comedy" were required in the pitch description to be successful – at best a combination of both. With series, we've been through that recently.

With "Dark" the producer duo Quirin Berg (42) and Max Wiedemann (43) showed their courage for sci-fi. A genre that seems to be neglected in this country. And with their new project "Tribes of Europa" they dare to venture back into at least local TV territory. With the exception of this courage for German dystopia, "Dark" and "Tribes of Europa" basically have no intersections – neither in terms of content nor in its ultimate consistency and quality.

You can rely on archetypes

Philip Koch (38) is primarily responsible for "Tribes of Europa" as the idea generator, director and part of the script team. He stages the battle of the tribes in a visually powerful way and without further ado, but within the genre also without innovations or big surprises. "Tribes of Europa" borrows a lot from models such as "Mad Max" or "The Determination – Divergent", but inevitably draws the short straw in terms of budget and the associated show values.

When it comes to figure drawing, the series relies on absolute archetypes in its six episodes. Here the peaceful indigenous people who are drawn into a conflict through no fault of their own. Because the militantly organized Crimson Republic plays the "world police". And there the dehumanized crows who enslave, rape, pillage and torture. The latter group has turned what was once Berlin into an industrial-decadent Sado-Maso stronghold, the members look like background dancers from a Rammstein cover band.

Unfortunately, the plot also knows little to surprise. Most of the twists and turns of the six episodes are likely to smell viewers a mile upwind. This is doubly annoying because the series generally has a lot of potential. In an interview with spot on news, actress Melika Foroutan (45), who plays the diabolical Crow leader Varvara, spoke of the "case of a continuation of the story" beyond a first season. Perhaps in the event of a continuation it would be possible to dispense with relying on too many familiar set pieces of (over-) large models.

Conclusion

"Tribes of Europa" dares a bit just because of its genre affiliation. One would have wished for this courage in the plot and characters of the series. As an entertaining detour into a dystopian, if not particularly innovative future with a slight "Guilty Pleasure" vibe, "Tribes of Europa" always serves.

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