This rather spooky series is about a group of astro physicists and astronomers all working together in an isolated part of Norway. They are hoping to discover some mysterious sound that is emitted by the universe and this will occur on a certain day. One of the scientists goes for a walk in the forest and finds a rope. He quickly becomes obsessed in getting to the end of the rope and crashes into a tree, injuring himself. This indicates the rope might have a hold over the group but does it? Eventually a group of them decide to track the rope to see where it ends even though they are all really needed for the important analysis. Apparently they think it's going to be a day trip and apparently don't pack any food or water or spare clothing. Unless there is a second series that links the mysterious universe sound and the rope then I am not sure what the connection was if any. I found this series quite fascinating watching this group of highly-educated types thrown into an alien environment with the strange rope object and was very disappointed when I found there were only three episodes in series one of about 50 mins each. In which case it probably could have been a film. I am committed enough that I am hoping for a series two, as I think there is more to the mysterious rope than meets the eye. Or not.
10 Reviews
What's the point?
windsorenquirer23 August 2022
What a bore !
hubertguillaud28 January 2022
At Your Own Risk
igl-5556028 January 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This is a mini-series dealing with the Hylics (or Somatics), one of the three types of human in the Gnostic belief system. See, Somatics are human beings who are completely bound to Matter (i.e the material world) and cannot understand anything relating to the Spiritual Realm.
If you are new to the concept, chances are that you, too, will not get where the series is going or its purpose. So, I advise you to watch the whole series (only three episodes) and come back later for the spoiler.
Spoiler ahead: A group of scientists and other staff members (as such as the cook) from around the world gather in a Nordic facility to harvest important data that, they hope, will lead them to better understand the Universe. Unfortunately, right before a crucial astronomical event, part of the top scientists of the group get completely obsessed about finding the end of a rope that is resting on the ground in the middle of nowhere. On their way to the end of the line, a series of events will cause some of them to have a mental breakdown bringing about the death of many. In the end, the cook discovers that the long rope intersect with another long rope perpendicularly in the wilderness.
My explanation: See, you can only understand the series if you know about the Gnostic belief system. It is a criticism of the illusion of discovering an end to the gathering of knowledge in the material world. It is also a criticism of the idea that one could find real knowledge through analysis or dissecting one by one each part of the Whole. The intersecting ropes represent the indefinite extension of the material world through time and space and are the four directions of an orthogonal Cartesian paradigm. Two directions (up and down) are implied to fully represent the three dimensional paradigm. It is ironical that the cook who especially mentioned in the first episode that he could not understand anything about the scientists' quest for knowledge is actually the one who discovers that this quest is pointless after having inherited the same obsession to know in finding the end of the line.
You can do your own research to understand why Gnostics believed this obsession to be pointless and especially why the other two types of human (i.e Psychics and Pneumatics) are regarded as closer the Truth than the Hylics. As a whole, the idea developed in the movie was very interesting but the drawback is that many people are probably going to be disappointed for lack of proper knowledge about the Gnostic belief system beforehand.
If you are new to the concept, chances are that you, too, will not get where the series is going or its purpose. So, I advise you to watch the whole series (only three episodes) and come back later for the spoiler.
Spoiler ahead: A group of scientists and other staff members (as such as the cook) from around the world gather in a Nordic facility to harvest important data that, they hope, will lead them to better understand the Universe. Unfortunately, right before a crucial astronomical event, part of the top scientists of the group get completely obsessed about finding the end of a rope that is resting on the ground in the middle of nowhere. On their way to the end of the line, a series of events will cause some of them to have a mental breakdown bringing about the death of many. In the end, the cook discovers that the long rope intersect with another long rope perpendicularly in the wilderness.
My explanation: See, you can only understand the series if you know about the Gnostic belief system. It is a criticism of the illusion of discovering an end to the gathering of knowledge in the material world. It is also a criticism of the idea that one could find real knowledge through analysis or dissecting one by one each part of the Whole. The intersecting ropes represent the indefinite extension of the material world through time and space and are the four directions of an orthogonal Cartesian paradigm. Two directions (up and down) are implied to fully represent the three dimensional paradigm. It is ironical that the cook who especially mentioned in the first episode that he could not understand anything about the scientists' quest for knowledge is actually the one who discovers that this quest is pointless after having inherited the same obsession to know in finding the end of the line.
You can do your own research to understand why Gnostics believed this obsession to be pointless and especially why the other two types of human (i.e Psychics and Pneumatics) are regarded as closer the Truth than the Hylics. As a whole, the idea developed in the movie was very interesting but the drawback is that many people are probably going to be disappointed for lack of proper knowledge about the Gnostic belief system beforehand.
Stalker 2.0
zablotf29 December 2021
Interesting short serie, probably with a quite a low budget. For me, the concept is close to the 1979 Stalker, but a rope had replaced the railway. Scientists and non scientists are confronted to something they cannot understand. Love and death are present, in a beautiful but frightening Nordic landscape. Without spoiler, I can't write much more.
To know or not to know
giannakisdenise12 June 2022
It was well done ..it reminded me of Stanzaw Lem..author of Solaris...and reminded me more specifically of one of his characters.. Prix and his adventures ...oh dear poor little humans.. we like order...cause... effect ....where none exists....
Really really liked it
adrienneiii21 June 2022
I don't understand the other bad reviews for this series to be honest. Yes, it's cerebral and it's not fast-paced. But it is beautifully filmed and I very much enjoyed the characters (fabulous actors) and the mystery of the rope. My partner thoroughly enjoyed it too. The ending is very abstract and not for those who need everything tied up. In a similar category to Dark (Germany), not at that level but still highly enjoyable television.
Amazing show!
dessyrumenova23 April 2022
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