Tabula Rasa - The Complete First Season - Blu-ray

Content: Since a car accident, once successful dancer Annemie Mie D`Haeze (Veerle Baetens) suffers from a special form of amnesia: she can remember everything that happened before the accident. Since then, however, her brain has been unable to store new memories in her long-term memory. With the help of notes and the support of her husband Benoit (Stijn Van Opstal), she has so far managed to lead a fairly normal life as a wife and mother. But then she is found injured and confused in the woods and ends up in a psychiatric ward. Apparently she's involved in the disappearance of a certain Thomas De Geest (Jeroen Perceval), and Inspector Jacques Wolkers (Gene Bervoets) is desperate to find out where the man is and what Mie's connection to him is. But she simply can't remember Thomas. Even her sketches and notes seem to disappear or be altered. But Mie won't give up trying to prove her innocence: slowly she puts the pieces of the puzzle together, getting closer and closer to a cruel truth.

Tabula Rasa is a suspenseful thriller series driven by an interesting premise: The only witness to a possible crime - or perhaps the perpetrator after all - can't remember anything and has to put the pieces of the puzzle together herself with little scraps of memory - never knowing if the memories are reality, or delusions. The fact that this premise works throughout the season is due to some perfectly placed plot twists, at least two of which you won't see coming even if you're a series and movie junkie. These surprising - and, in at least one case, genuinely shocking - twists keep the story moving in a new direction, which means that the action remains gripping right up to the end, despite a very slow narrative pace.

There are some plot lines that don't quite work as well and seem a bit contrived. But overall, as a viewer, you're treated to some rousing entertainment that is not only great visually, but is also superbly acted. Veerle Baetens, who was also involved in the conception of the series, plays Mie, who is constantly balancing on the edge of insanity, really great. She is distraught, frightened, but also determined to find out for herself what has happened to her. Thanks to Baetens' intense acting, even some scenes that are a bit far-fetched in themselves seem believable and involving.

If you like thrilling psychological thrillers, if you can do without a fast pace and want to get some really good surprises and good actors instead, you should definitely not miss Tabula Rasa. My only tip: Don't read anything beforehand, so that you will really be surprised by the plot twists. Only then can this successful Belgian production unfold its full power. Absolutely recommendable!

Picture + Sound: The Blu-ray's picture underlines the gloomy atmosphere of the series well with its authentic, slightly undercooled colour scheme. Especially in the scenes in which it is (initially) unclear whether they are real or yet a delusion of Mie, this comes off very well. The pleasantly high level of image sharpness and detail leave a decent impression even in the darker scenes. When it comes to the audio, dialogue and the restrained soundtrack predominate, but every now and then smaller sound effects ensure that not only the tension rises, but that a little movement is added to the multichannel. Good.

Extras: Unfortunately, the Blu-ray set has no bonus material to offer. Only a booklet with an episode guide is included with the box. CAUTION: Definitely do not read through the individual episodes before watching, because two of the most important plot twists are already given away here!

Conclusion: Tabula Rasa is a thrilling thriller series that can convince with really surprising plot twists, a great leading actress and a visually engaging production - even if some small plot elements don't work that well and the narrative pace is at times very carried. The Blu-ray presents the episodes of this first (and hopefully not only) season in good picture and sound quality. However, interested viewers have to do without bonus material. Nevertheless, there is here quite clearly a: Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp