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Director: Isabel Braak. Nina Vukovic
Genre: Spy thriller
Time: TV series – 6 x 55-minute episodes
Platform: Netflix
Cast: Jella Haase. Dimitrij Schaad. Julius Feldmeier.
The open ending of Season 1 (see here for the post on Kleo Season 1) left no doubt that the infamous red suitcase, which Kleo (Jella Haase) and Sven (Dimitrij Schaad) worked so hard for in South America but ultimately lost to the Americans, would resurface.
From the time the title card says “this is a true story, and none of this happened”, we know things are going to be far out, quirky and totally off the charts.
Season 2 starts off with the red suitcase being taken by a renegade American female agent Kimberly from the CIA agent who is carrying it. The car and the agent are blown up by Kimberley who vanishes.
Kleo’s mother who has settled in the West suddenly appears with a gift of doughnuts inside which is a message. Kleo now intrigued, starts checking. Meanwhile, Sven Petzold, who is back in his flat, is compelled to join up with Kleo as she tracks a suspect KGB officer. Her former colleague Jutta, who had shopped her to the Stasis, also makes a sudden appearance.. Thilo (Julius Feldmeier), the DJ who is addicted to drugs and shares a house with Kleo, finds himself caught up in the events and unable to determine what is real. The Russians are also chasing Kleo who has repetitive flashbacks about her father. Meanwhile, Germany is undergoing a huge transformation of both political and monetary union. Everyone is struggling and wondering what to do.
Except Kleo.
She knows her target is the red suitcase, and she goes after it like a bloodhound.
If all this sound very serious, it is. Yet it isn’t. It may seem absurd and foolish, but it eventually finds its footing and reconnects with Kleo’s mission to uncover her past and locate the red suitcase.
In this cauldron you have the drug addled Thilo who is in his own spaced out world. Uwe, the East German assassin, attempts to use every weapon in his arsenal, from a pistol to an RPG, in his failed attempts to kill Kleo and Sven. You also have Sven who becomes more exasperated but can’t help but know that Kleo will shoot first and ask questions later. Being a former policeman, he consistently reminds Kleo to refrain from shooting, but she never listens.
Most of the comedy is routed through Kleo and Sven’s interactions.
The international background soon assume a serious dimension but not for Kleo and Sven , who is still the bumbling idiot he was in Season 1 . Also, there are some far out elements, daft but integrated into the plot.Though it’s a bit nutty, it doesn’t mean that the usual bunch of explosions, murders, assassinations and so on, don’t happen ; wherever Kleo goes, death follows her around. The body count steadily increases over the six episodes.
The 1990 atmosphere is excellent with the Berlin and Belgrade locations suitably mingled into the script.
To reveal more would be a crime. Watch it. (I binge watched it overnight and laughed out aloud at times). The ending suggests Season 3 is coming.
Script – 5 out of 5
Story – 4 out of 5
Direction – 4 out of 5
Photography – 4 out of 5
Total – 4.2 out of 5
Finally watched the second season. Quirky and fun though it took me a while (maybe from episode 3 onwards) for me to get really hooked. Actors playing Sven and Thilo were superb and so was the black lady from the CIA. But it’s Jella Haase as Kleo who holds the show together. Again, very accurate review which brings out all that was needed to be told
Thanks ; glad you liked it.