China Mieville's setting is complex and intriguing. I kind of loved that there's no attempt to explain how this bizarre world - where two dystopian cities exist side-by-side, blurring at the margins but legally, culturally and psychically completely self-contained - has come to pass.
In these fractured worlds the appearance of a young woman's body kicks off the resumption of a quest to solve his own wife's disappearance for Beszel detective Inspector Tyador Borlu. The victim is from America, a nation bewildered by the seen/unseen twin cities of Beszel and UI Qoma. She's apparently been murdered in the affluent UI Qoma and dumped in the more down-at-heel Beszel and has links to a shady cult-like group invested in the belief of a utopian 'third city'.
With his cocky offsider Constable Lizbyet Cowri in tow, Borlu quickly starts making waves, and attracting the attention of an omnipresent group known as 'the breach' which exists to identify and punish illegal contact between the two cities.
Overall the performances are solid, especially from Mandeep Dhillon who is terrific as the potty-mouthed Cowri.
The plot twists and turns across a few timelines and between the two cities and their blurred ('cross-hatched) intersections. For me, the whodunnit it pretty stock-standard detective fare, but its wonderfully imagined setting is the real star. Frankly, if Mieville is into writing about the history of this perverse world, I'd be lining up to buy it, but I could take or leave any further attempts at the crime genre.
The production values could have been higher. The attempt to render the two cities and their complicated connections was a bit undergraduate. I wondered how Beszel and UI Qoma could look in the hands of someline like Ridley Scott.
Overall though, the four-part miniseries was a good watch. A solid 7 for me.
31 Reviews
Intriguing but underdeveloped
paul2001sw-16 May 2018
The analogy to our world from the fictional universe of China Mieville's 'The City and the City' is both obviousand exquisite: two cities, one gleaming and prosperous, the other more resembling Geroge Orwell's 1984, occupy the same place; the people survive by of the act of will of seeing only one world. Perhaps disappointingly (and especially given Mieville's own Marxist politics), the political dimension is rather under-developed in this BBC adaptation; and David Morrissey's mumbling monontone hero is a hard character to like. As in the best science fiction, there are many interesting ideas here (especially around the concept of "breaching" the two worlds), but they feel somewhat underdeveloped, and too much of the story comes in flashback form. It made me want to read the book to see if the original made more of its foundation.
Confusing start; interesting journey; disappointing conclusion
frukuk7 April 2018
The confusing opening episode: the weird geography was bound to be disorientating, but the initial flashbacks of the detective's wife appeared, confusingly, to be contemporary.
The interesting journey of the middle two episodes: the teasing possibility of the existence of something mythical.
The disappointing resolution of the fourth and final episode: so this adaptation (if not the source novel itself) is really just a police procedural with a murder investigation that spans a border that's difficult to cross?
The interesting journey of the middle two episodes: the teasing possibility of the existence of something mythical.
The disappointing resolution of the fourth and final episode: so this adaptation (if not the source novel itself) is really just a police procedural with a murder investigation that spans a border that's difficult to cross?
pretty good for a TV show
dragokin23 October 2022
While reading The City and the City I remember thinking how it would make an exquisite blockbuster. The CGI was needed not to hide the lack of story, which seems to be the standard for contemporary mainstream, but to enhance it.
Yet we got a TV show. At first I dismissed it, but didn't resist the urge to watch. Eventually I think this is a pretty good TV show.
Obviously, this production can't surpass a blockbuster, but the cohabitation of Beszel and Ul Coma was done in a best possible way with the budget given. As if Eastern Europe of the Cold War with its police state met with the contemporary business districts in the Middle East, tightly controlled by law enforcement and secret service. Sarcastically speaking, the only difference between the two was the appearance.
And what made this TV show even better than the literally template was the ending. In the book it slid towards not particularly convincing fantasy. Here it was done in the only possible way for the given setting, as an anticlimax.
Yet we got a TV show. At first I dismissed it, but didn't resist the urge to watch. Eventually I think this is a pretty good TV show.
Obviously, this production can't surpass a blockbuster, but the cohabitation of Beszel and Ul Coma was done in a best possible way with the budget given. As if Eastern Europe of the Cold War with its police state met with the contemporary business districts in the Middle East, tightly controlled by law enforcement and secret service. Sarcastically speaking, the only difference between the two was the appearance.
And what made this TV show even better than the literally template was the ending. In the book it slid towards not particularly convincing fantasy. Here it was done in the only possible way for the given setting, as an anticlimax.
6 Stars for Acting & Atmpsphere
geekoutmetal10 August 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I wanted to watch the series because of the premise.
I love David Morrissey's voice and it really gave it a nice noir feel to the story with his voiceovers.
Mandeep is brilliant as the Corvi. She makes some remarks about her swearing too much about being a men's world which I found funny especially when at the end you get to see exactly how much more power she had than Borlu.
The atmosphere and tone of the visual delivery really gave it a nice sci-fi overtone, but sadly it lost itself in ep. 4.
All the build up and great acting and story fell flat during the resolution. The long awaited 3rd city, Orciny was what? Heaven? GTFO. Seriously, why put all this effort into Orciny if you are just going to bait and switch after 3.5hrs?
Sure, I can let it pass that the whole, "We are not going to explain why this divide actually exists." But to fake us out on Orciny? Come on, thats like twice bitten. Not coming back again.
The atmosphere and tone of the visual delivery really gave it a nice sci-fi overtone, but sadly it lost itself in ep. 4.
All the build up and great acting and story fell flat during the resolution. The long awaited 3rd city, Orciny was what? Heaven? GTFO. Seriously, why put all this effort into Orciny if you are just going to bait and switch after 3.5hrs?
Sure, I can let it pass that the whole, "We are not going to explain why this divide actually exists." But to fake us out on Orciny? Come on, thats like twice bitten. Not coming back again.
Superbly atmospheric
prgarrett-1220829 April 2018
Superbly atmospheric rendition, beautifully photographed and with strong characters. The first episode would surely be confusing for those not familiar with the book, but even then, the air of mystery and menace is so compelling that they must also be drawn in. Techniques that seem crude on the surface - blurring of part of an image to indicate that it's not culturally possible to perceive it, umlauts and other diacritics on signs in English - work surprisingly well. David Morrissey's gestures are sometimes a little irritating, especially his over-frequent technique of grimacing while he places one hand over his eyes to indicate that he's seeing something he shouldn't be seeing. Mandeep Dhillon great. Dominik Scherrer's soundtrack disappointing. An indication of how a two state solution could turn out? Loved it, but consider reading the novel first.
Dark and involving
musickrev18 October 2022
Dark - as in literally dark, with the majority of the scenes dimly lit (partly for effect, partly, I suspect, to obscure familiar filming locations) - and intriguing police fantasy fiction. Not a total success by any means, the plot is complicated and unclearly communicated and more effort seems to have gone into atmosphere than coherence. The acting wobbles a bit, mostly likely due to the direction than anything else, but concepts of perception, identity and belief are explored in thoughtful ways. It's perhaps overlong for what turns out to be a fairly predictable outcome, but there are plenty of effective scenes rich with real suspense. Requires patience and may reward repeated viewing more than a single go round, but it's an involving and worthwhile drama.
A nonsensical adaptation of a great book
nahlakohala6 September 2020
After having read the complex and interesting Hugo award winning novel, I had high hopes for the 4 part miniseries. Alas, the screen adaptation needlessly departs from the tight, well thought out plotting of the novel to introduce a distracting and implausible Hollywood romance element, confusing flashbacks while garbling the plot.
The book requires acceptance of only a single premise: that two cities exist side by side with strict prohibitions on interactions between the two.
Do yourself a favor and skip the miniseries and read the book.
The book requires acceptance of only a single premise: that two cities exist side by side with strict prohibitions on interactions between the two.
Do yourself a favor and skip the miniseries and read the book.
Beszel and UI Qoma
Prismark1030 April 2018
The City and the City is an interesting, intriguing, thought provoking fantasy/sci-fi detective thriller. It is shot in a grimy way with a budget that is not quite large enough to reach its ambitions but almost gets there by will power. If you look hard enough you can see some parts of Liverpool.
I did find the series rather confusing but during its transmission I visited Berlin and this gave me another dimension to understand the series.
David Morrissey plays a hard boiled detective Tyador Borlú , an Inspector in the Beszel Extreme Crime Squad. Beszel is a dinghy city with battered tower blocks, poor, with immigrants and a government that wants to drive the foreigners out. It is a Dystopian society not too far from East Germany.
Borlú is investigating the death of a an American female found dead in Beszel. However she was studying in Ul Qoma so it was a case of what was she doing here? Ul Qoma is a little bit upmarket, with glass towers, affluence and a little bit of style and intellectual sophistication. Yet it is also anti immigrant and deep down it is also a Dystopian society, maybe West Berlin of the 1970s.
Both cities exist in the same space, residents from both cities ignore each other and have been trained to unsee and ignore the other city. If you cross the cities illegally it is a breach and punishable unless you go through the official crossing points. A bit like Checkpoint Charlie.
As we follow Borlú's investigation with his new potty mouthed partner, we see flashbacks of his wife who disappeared some years earlier. Did she go to Ul Qoma and not return? Borlú crosses over to Ul Qoma and investigates some radicals who believe that there is a mythical third city called Orciny.
Morrissey is wonderful, he makes the series come alive. The City and the City is one of the best dramas of 2018.
I did find the series rather confusing but during its transmission I visited Berlin and this gave me another dimension to understand the series.
David Morrissey plays a hard boiled detective Tyador Borlú , an Inspector in the Beszel Extreme Crime Squad. Beszel is a dinghy city with battered tower blocks, poor, with immigrants and a government that wants to drive the foreigners out. It is a Dystopian society not too far from East Germany.
Borlú is investigating the death of a an American female found dead in Beszel. However she was studying in Ul Qoma so it was a case of what was she doing here? Ul Qoma is a little bit upmarket, with glass towers, affluence and a little bit of style and intellectual sophistication. Yet it is also anti immigrant and deep down it is also a Dystopian society, maybe West Berlin of the 1970s.
Both cities exist in the same space, residents from both cities ignore each other and have been trained to unsee and ignore the other city. If you cross the cities illegally it is a breach and punishable unless you go through the official crossing points. A bit like Checkpoint Charlie.
As we follow Borlú's investigation with his new potty mouthed partner, we see flashbacks of his wife who disappeared some years earlier. Did she go to Ul Qoma and not return? Borlú crosses over to Ul Qoma and investigates some radicals who believe that there is a mythical third city called Orciny.
Morrissey is wonderful, he makes the series come alive. The City and the City is one of the best dramas of 2018.
Thinking you're going to Harrods and ending up in Argos
aleeward30 April 2018
This miniseries tricks you into thinking there will be an astonishing reveal that is worthy of the painful slog of an effort it is to watch.
After watching episode one I felt perhaps I had accidentaly skipped a few episodes, as just 5 minutes in I had no idea what was going on. Aware that this was based on a novel I powered through in the hope that all would be made clear in the forthcoming episodes.
How I was sadly wrrong.
The premise of 2 cities overlapping, but being worlds apart and disconnected was intriguing. However there is no real explanantion as to why and how this happened. We're never really told if this is a futuristic yet backward era or a facsimilie of a divided Germany. (the scenery, uniforms and costume certainly allude to this)
The cockney foulmouthed sidekick pours fuel on the fire of annoyane. This leads to apathy and makes you wonder if you really care about the dead girl.
I'll stop now for the fear of dropping spoilers, but it shouldn't really matter as I would highly recommend swerving this programme.
After watching episode one I felt perhaps I had accidentaly skipped a few episodes, as just 5 minutes in I had no idea what was going on. Aware that this was based on a novel I powered through in the hope that all would be made clear in the forthcoming episodes.
How I was sadly wrrong.
The premise of 2 cities overlapping, but being worlds apart and disconnected was intriguing. However there is no real explanantion as to why and how this happened. We're never really told if this is a futuristic yet backward era or a facsimilie of a divided Germany. (the scenery, uniforms and costume certainly allude to this)
The cockney foulmouthed sidekick pours fuel on the fire of annoyane. This leads to apathy and makes you wonder if you really care about the dead girl.
I'll stop now for the fear of dropping spoilers, but it shouldn't really matter as I would highly recommend swerving this programme.
A murder mystery in a strange sci-fi setting
Tweekums8 April 2018
This four-part miniseries is set in the twin cities of Beszel and Ul Qoma; to an outsider they might appear to be one city but residents have trained themselves to completely ignore the other; to notice something in the other city is a crime even if it is right next to you. It is possible to legally pass from one city to the other but once across you must ignore where you came from. Those who cross illegally come to the attention of Breach; the shadowy organisation that polices the boundaries.
Tyador Borlú is an Inspector in the Beszel Extreme Crime Squad and his latest case involves an American student found dead in the city; she shoudn't have been there though as she was studying in Ul Qoma. His investigation will lead him to Ul Qoma, to radicals who believe there is actually a third hidden city called Orciny and ultimately to Breach; only then will he discover what happened to the girl and why... also how it was linked to the disappearance of his wife some years before.
I haven't read the book and when I saw the trailers for this series I thought it might be a bit too weird; but as I like science fiction and mysteries I thought I'd give it a go. I'm glad I did as I was quickly hooked; to the extent that I watched it in one day. The setting is intriguing and the makers did a fine job of depicting the cities; the 'other' city slightly out of focus often to one side of the screen. Usually in such a story one might expect one city to be dystopian and the other utopian but here both are fairly dystopian, even if Ul Qoma appears to be more advanced. The mystery is solid and the details of the girl's death should keep one guessing till the end. We also get political machinations and a high level of threat much of the time. David Morrissey does a really good job as Borlú and he is ably supported by Mandeep Dhillon, as his new partner Constable Corwi and Maria Schrader, as Ul Qoma's Senior Detective Dhatt, amongst others. Over all I'd say this won't be for everybody but it you want something rather different I'd certainly recommend giving this a go.
Tyador Borlú is an Inspector in the Beszel Extreme Crime Squad and his latest case involves an American student found dead in the city; she shoudn't have been there though as she was studying in Ul Qoma. His investigation will lead him to Ul Qoma, to radicals who believe there is actually a third hidden city called Orciny and ultimately to Breach; only then will he discover what happened to the girl and why... also how it was linked to the disappearance of his wife some years before.
I haven't read the book and when I saw the trailers for this series I thought it might be a bit too weird; but as I like science fiction and mysteries I thought I'd give it a go. I'm glad I did as I was quickly hooked; to the extent that I watched it in one day. The setting is intriguing and the makers did a fine job of depicting the cities; the 'other' city slightly out of focus often to one side of the screen. Usually in such a story one might expect one city to be dystopian and the other utopian but here both are fairly dystopian, even if Ul Qoma appears to be more advanced. The mystery is solid and the details of the girl's death should keep one guessing till the end. We also get political machinations and a high level of threat much of the time. David Morrissey does a really good job as Borlú and he is ably supported by Mandeep Dhillon, as his new partner Constable Corwi and Maria Schrader, as Ul Qoma's Senior Detective Dhatt, amongst others. Over all I'd say this won't be for everybody but it you want something rather different I'd certainly recommend giving this a go.
Awful lazy mess
roberttimbre12 April 2018
I think the writer and producer and director are largely at fault here. Script development and appreciation of source material is so poor and shows that it takes great skill to convert a novel to the screen. Too many assumptions are made, that the viewer will know the world into which we descend. Far too much inappropriate swearing by actors who look lost and vague, with those who are chain smoking clearly I'll at ease with the poisonous habit and as such fail to convince us that they are real smokers so it creates scenes that look incongruous nay ridiculous. The plotting is clumsy and laborious. The photography/ lighting is reasonably well done, but spoiled by the rest of the ingredients. It doesn't look like much money was spent on the production, which is probably a blessing for the tax payers, but really the whole thing shouldn't have been given the go ahead.
Took my breath away!
E161TZ2 August 2018
Had no idea what to except, never heard of the author or the book this is based on but once I watched the first episode I got it, was hooked and wanted to keep watching, this series is unbelievably good, nothing you will see elsewhere and a great science fiction treat!
The visual/special effects /cinematography was flawless that I thought it must have been made somewhere in Germany, but no, here in the UK. I watched it through 3 times over, I loved it that much! Watch/enjoy/discover something different.
Big miss by BBC
oldtraff8 April 2018
Warning: Spoilers
So far I've struggled through 3 of the 4 episodes,it's extremely slow moving non of the characters are that interesting and there's very little plot development. David Morrissey plays the lead but his acting range is so ltd just like in Britannia fails to bring anything to the role.
It's set in a city that is actually split into 2 cities but whichever part someone lives in, the other half of the city is blurred out and then there might be a secret 3rd city inside the other 2 cities,i know right
It's supposed to be a murder mystery but Morrissey seems more concerned in using the investigation to find his missing wife who he thinks might've left him for the mysterious 3rd City.All of the flashbacks are of him and his wife,like we care.
Normally when i get into a good TV series i binge watch until it's conclusion,I've found myself watching this one 20 mins here and there it's been a struggle.Going into the last episode i don't care who murdered the girl,if his wife is still alive and if there is in fact a 3rd city,hidden among the other 2 cities in one big city.
Overall have found it tedious and a tough slog.
Brilliant Dystopian Nightmare
ad1962-834-23340412 April 2018
Highly stimulating, engaging and thought provoking - actually had to concentrate to understand what is going on. Definitely not a veg out - have to turn off the computer and watch. Reminded me very much of East Berlin in the 80s. Must read the book.
Dire
williamkenny-6212916 April 2021
Incoherent, inept sci fi - excrutiating and tedious. David Morrissey is actually the best thing in it, but he is up against an overly verbose script, and an amateurish production. It's as if he is leading a troupe of drama students on an improvised exercise. All his dialogue has the strange effect of being exposition that only adds to the confusion, like some character from Alice In Wonderland. The production has the air of a precocious youngster convinced of it's own genius and the startling originality of it's own ideas - anyone failing to penetrate the incomprehensible plot must be of a lower order of evolution. I gather from other reviews here that there is some kind of Marxist allegory at work - if this is the device of two cities occupying the same space - one plush, one rancid - I don't find it overly original, and the point escapes me. I don't think polemics make for especially good drama, and does not make China Mievelle's work seem very appealing. Overall, the production reminded me of painful misfired attempts at adult science fiction from the 1980s, like the awful Plays For Tomorrow, and especially the badly flawed but more interesting Artemis 81, which at least has some flair by comparison,.
Dystopian whodunnit, wheredunnit
mattjenkins13 April 2018
Two worlds who choose to ignore and avoid the other but are physically next door to each other as part of a greater metropolis city. Just to make things even more interesting, is there a third ancient city no one wants to admit exists?
Why?.....WHY?!
rsvp32125 April 2018
Why do they "choose to ignore the other side"?!
In "Counterpart" series (8.2 at IMDb, 9 by me) they resent the other side because of a virus, but what did I miss for City/City?!
Regardless, I've only watched one episode and it's definitely a keeper. Good sci fi.
Actors, characters, filming, directing, are superb, and I always enjoy watching The Governor! lol
In "Counterpart" series (8.2 at IMDb, 9 by me) they resent the other side because of a virus, but what did I miss for City/City?!
Regardless, I've only watched one episode and it's definitely a keeper. Good sci fi.
Actors, characters, filming, directing, are superb, and I always enjoy watching The Governor! lol
Not Well Thought Out
westsideschl21 July 2019
Unnecessary & excessive obtuse dialogue in an attempt to be cutely mysterious. Poor & excessive use of flashbacks. Drama is mostly talking heads.
The divided city where you're not suppose to see the other half even if they're next to you is suppose to be a metaphor for how religion, class, status & wealth divides peoples. But, factually the privileged in most current societies do interact w/their working or less than working peoples encouraging numerous interchanges such as housing, food, assistance programs, prestigious higher ed scholarships, creating pathways for h.s. dropouts to become billionaires. Even the Palestinians work in Israel; Hindi Indians in S. Arabia. Another plot point is the mysterious third city Orciny which has archeological artifacts yet does not occupy any space, time, language; has no past or present and sees/knows everything forever, all of which makes no sense.
Summary: Had potential, but not well thought out.
Whats really weird is this weirdness works ........
s327616912 June 2018
City and the City is an odd blend. There's a little hybridised "checkpoint Charlie" style thing on offer here. A juncture between cities that have a East Germany meets West Germany vibe. This is married up to a gritty police procedural drama that, in turn, has a sci fi physics/metaphysics make over.
Whats really weird is this weirdness works well. This tale is just familiar enough to offer up something convincing and grounded your rational sane side can hold onto but also irrationally, insanely different enough to upturn long held conventions.
It does this quirky series no harm either to have decent refreshingly intelligent narrative and characterisations, backed by a quality cast. A cast that includes David Morrissey, in the lead role, who I fondly remember from The Walking Dead.
9/10 from me.
Whats really weird is this weirdness works well. This tale is just familiar enough to offer up something convincing and grounded your rational sane side can hold onto but also irrationally, insanely different enough to upturn long held conventions.
It does this quirky series no harm either to have decent refreshingly intelligent narrative and characterisations, backed by a quality cast. A cast that includes David Morrissey, in the lead role, who I fondly remember from The Walking Dead.
9/10 from me.
Idiotic idea, but interesting story
reality425 May 2018
The story itself is somewhat interesting, but its hard to "suspend disbelief" when the implication is that the people in these cities are idiots. In the real world if there were what seems to look like 1 city to the outside, split into 2 cities in separate countries that share a border and don't wish open immigration, it would be be far cheaper and more convenient for citizens to build a wall. Its doubtful there is any credible scenario that could explain how the claimed situation evolved in the first place if you assume these are humans rather than aliens who don't share the same human nature we do. I watched this to see if some interesting twist would make their approach more credible, but it never arose.
btw, this comment doesn't indicate anything about politics in the real world. I favor as much open immigration as possible, and a wall dividing a dense city is vastly different than an extremely long one along a sparsely populated border between countries.
btw, this comment doesn't indicate anything about politics in the real world. I favor as much open immigration as possible, and a wall dividing a dense city is vastly different than an extremely long one along a sparsely populated border between countries.
The Invisible Man meets 1984.
tomcowen-9719816 June 2018
In Ralph Ellison's novel The Invisible Man he convincingly describes a society where he is not seen. This happens today all over. Aborigines are invisible to white Australians. Muslims are invisible to Christians and on it goes. The City just takes reality a little further and has a state imposed invisible "other class". If you don't follow the plot first time (you are not alone) I recommend a second look and you will pick up the subtle detail in a better appreciation of the fabric being woven here.
Generic plot irrelevant to amazing concept
sfsy1-53-76973224 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Just like Ul Qoma and Besczel, the plot and the concept don't mix.
The wife's story, dead girl, and cult leader working with evil corporation could have happened without the entire segregation concept. They could've linked the wife's story back to breaching or unification, but nope she just wanted to die.
There was so much to work with after the first 2 seasons but the ending was seriously underwhelming. Have not read the book but I heard China Mieville's works all have rather mundane endings.
Watching this movie is akin to eating McDonald's in a museum; generic substance in a sophisticated environment.
The wife's story, dead girl, and cult leader working with evil corporation could have happened without the entire segregation concept. They could've linked the wife's story back to breaching or unification, but nope she just wanted to die.
There was so much to work with after the first 2 seasons but the ending was seriously underwhelming. Have not read the book but I heard China Mieville's works all have rather mundane endings.
Watching this movie is akin to eating McDonald's in a museum; generic substance in a sophisticated environment.
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