As someone who has lived his coming of age years during the 1980s in the city of Berlin, I was instantly fascinated by the authentic sets, fashions and general "feeling" of what it was like to experience the final moments of the ever-present Cold War. Those parts were captured very realistically. High marks for that part of the production values. The opening episode is action packed and sets up the main theme: Our protagonist Kleo, a young "special forced agent" for the STASI (Secret Police) wants to know why she has apparently been "sold out" by her peers and left to rot in jail, just as she had completed another one of many successful missions (assassinations). After many months behind bars, Kleo is suddenly released, along with all other political prisoners, because the "Berlin Wall" has fallen, and the old GDR is no more.
Exciting introduction. The story quickly takes outrageously far fetched tangents. Several loopy supporting characters show up with their strange personalities and matching actions. A self-proclaimed "alien from another planet", who squats in one of many suddenly abandoned East German apartments is determined to open his own Techno-Disco. Another weirdo is Kleo's peer, a fellow graduate from the "special training school", who is holding a grudge for never quite matching Kleo's performance record. Kleo's Grandfather is a "higher up" in the Communist Party and a devout believer in the cause, to the point of having his own daughter, and eventually even Kleo arrested.
Without giving away more details, I do need to note that the constant and often completely gratuitous violence becomes tiresome; the fact that there never seems to be any consequences (or even acknowledgement) of arbitrary killings of human beings is unappealing. The many forced little jokes predicating and following a killing are almost cartoonish. "May I please kill just one more? Pretty please?" - Sorry, not funny! I also find it quite incredible, how this moderately attractive Kleo is able to instantly seduce any young man she decides to "toy with". That's not realistic. We are also made to believe how brilliant these "secret agents" are, then find that each and every one of them is constantly and repeatedly tricked and deceived by everyone else. As a fan of this genre and of movies in general, I'm just not buying it. There are also several scenes with prolonged partial nudity without logic or even dialog, adding nothing to the plot. Why was that necessary?
My favorite moment comes near the end, when "Aunt Margot" examines her precious suitcase. It's an "inside joke" that almost all Germans of my age will appreciate. - I binge-watched "Kleo". I was entertained, but not "thrilled" with this series. The "pay off" takes away some of the unpleasant taste, making the final product worthwhile.
Exciting introduction. The story quickly takes outrageously far fetched tangents. Several loopy supporting characters show up with their strange personalities and matching actions. A self-proclaimed "alien from another planet", who squats in one of many suddenly abandoned East German apartments is determined to open his own Techno-Disco. Another weirdo is Kleo's peer, a fellow graduate from the "special training school", who is holding a grudge for never quite matching Kleo's performance record. Kleo's Grandfather is a "higher up" in the Communist Party and a devout believer in the cause, to the point of having his own daughter, and eventually even Kleo arrested.
Without giving away more details, I do need to note that the constant and often completely gratuitous violence becomes tiresome; the fact that there never seems to be any consequences (or even acknowledgement) of arbitrary killings of human beings is unappealing. The many forced little jokes predicating and following a killing are almost cartoonish. "May I please kill just one more? Pretty please?" - Sorry, not funny! I also find it quite incredible, how this moderately attractive Kleo is able to instantly seduce any young man she decides to "toy with". That's not realistic. We are also made to believe how brilliant these "secret agents" are, then find that each and every one of them is constantly and repeatedly tricked and deceived by everyone else. As a fan of this genre and of movies in general, I'm just not buying it. There are also several scenes with prolonged partial nudity without logic or even dialog, adding nothing to the plot. Why was that necessary?
My favorite moment comes near the end, when "Aunt Margot" examines her precious suitcase. It's an "inside joke" that almost all Germans of my age will appreciate. - I binge-watched "Kleo". I was entertained, but not "thrilled" with this series. The "pay off" takes away some of the unpleasant taste, making the final product worthwhile.