Cordon Online

When there is an outbreak of a deadly version of the 'flu in the Belgian city of Antwerp the government rapidly sets up a cordon sanitaire around the affected area of the city. The hundreds of people inside are initially told they will be allowed out in a couple of days but it soon becomes apparent that they will be there for a long time. Those inside include a cross section of society all desperately trying to avoid catching the disease. Some try to help others, some just look out for themselves and others use it as an opportunity to profiteer. The outbreak is centred on the National Institute of Infectious Diseases; initially it is believed that it started by a recently arrived illegal immigrant who went to the centre. While those in the sealed off area struggle to survive the government desperately tries to control the news, even going as far as cutting off communications between those inside and those outside. One of those responsible for preventing people escaping is a police officer whose girlfriend is inside and as he does his job he comes to realise that the government covering up the truth about the outbreak.

This Belgian drama managed to be gripping from start to finish. The large cast of characters are nicely introduced and it is far from obvious who will live and who will die… even if the final episode characters who one would bet of surviving contract the illness. This cast does a fine job portraying the wide variety of characters as their situation deteriorates from living in a modern western city to something akin to the 'Lord of the Flies' as fear spreads and people turn on each other. Being set over ten episodes there is plenty of time for us to grow to care about various characters making it hit harder when they die. The conspiracy theory element of the story is handled well and isn't too extreme. While this fairly grim there are a small number of mildly amusing details; most notably provided to the slobbish reporter whose website tells the public details the authorities want kept secret. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to anybody looking for a gritty drama that isn't primarily about crime.

These comments are based on watching the series in Flemish with English subtitles.

I really enjoyed this series. Think Ebola or any serious disease and what the authorities would do if there were an outbreak in a western European city, A cordon sanitaire is set up and order breaks down inside the stricken area

Various venues are followed, a house, a workplace, a supermarket and infectious diseases hospital - and everyone has their secrets and little tricks

I found this well planned and compulsive viewing - and the acting convincing. ( oh I used to work in a lab so I suppose I would wouldn't I )

and if you are good at languages you will come out with a working knowledge of Flemish.

I am 75% of the way through this and really enjoying it. It is pretty plausible, atmospheric and engaging. It is well acted (as far as I as a non Flemish speaker can tell) and the characters come to life.

A couple of flaws: whoever decided that sluice was the correct translation for whatever the Flemish word is should be sacked. It is a bad translation, it really makes you go 'what???' every time it comes up. It may be a possible literal translation, that doesn't make it correct here. With a Flemish speaker to hand, I could do better. And little quality control and continuity details crop up: e.g if bodies had been around long enough to stink, how come the candles burning around them were all hardly burnt down at all?

But as I say, 9/10 and very enjoyable - well done Belgium!

What would happen if a deadly virus struck a major European city? How would people live when fear replaces hope? Supposing the infected area was cordoned off? How long would it take for law and order to break down? And for the rest of the world to stop caring about those trapped inside? What if the medical research that promises to save us is in fact a double edged sword? There are lots of interesting questions brought to mind by Belgian drama 'Cordon'; unfortunately, almost too many. Just the practical issues - for example, how would the laboratory responsible for managing the disease cope? or how might one group of people attempt to survive without getting infected? are themselves extremely complex, and we get, not a single story, but an account told from many perspectives, attempting to cover all sides of the story, but actually only drawing attention to the host of issues not addressed. Part of the problem here is that big stories are often rendered accessible by being personalised - but a story of the very end of society itself is just too large to be told by example. Who, for example, is Lommers, the senior politician seemingly with sole responsibility for condemning thousands of her own citizens to death, and treating it as a normal administrative detail? I wanted to like this and some of the psychological subplots were convincing - but as a whole, it felt contrived. One might think of Polanski's 'The Pianist', or Swedish AIDS drama 'Don't Ever Wipe Tears without Gloves' as stories that touched upon similar themes, but based on true stories and without the surfeit of ambition that ultimately renders 'Cordon' unsatisfactory.