New Netflix hit from France: here's what you need to know about Soleil Noir
Just one more day to wait and then the summer vacation for all of the Netherlands will begin, and for many people that means a trip abroad. For those who plan to stay home or have to wait a bit longer to board the plane, Netflix offers a chance to escape to a sunny destination. The French thriller ‘Soleil Noir’ is currently the hit of the moment. Just don't expect idyllic summer scenes here; this series has a rather dark and mysterious story. One that makes you think until the end: what's really going on?
The mysterious story of Soleil Noir
A slow start is certainly not the case with ‘Soleil Noir’ (in English ‘Under the Dark Sun’). Alba (Ava Baya) is on the run with her son from her ex and her own parents, who want to take the child away from her because they believe she is not a good mother. The duo tries Spain to reach, but makes an unexpected stop when Alba can get a job at a flower nursery in Provence to earn some extra money. Once at work, she gets a strange feeling about her boss; he seems to be hiding something from her. But before Alba can ask him for answers, she finds his lifeless body on the farm. In panic, she flees, but that, along with her sudden presence at the nursery, makes her the prime suspect; her past in crime doesn't really work in her favor either. While she is being held, an important secret comes to light: she is in her boss's will; she turns out to be his daughter; this is a great shock to the rest of his family and to Alba herself. It turns out to be just the beginning of a web of family secrets that complicates the situation even further. Meanwhile, Alba also has to prove that she is innocent.
The deeper layers of Soleil Noir
‘Soleil Noir’ can be described as a ‘whodunit’, a series that primarily revolves around finding the culprit; in this case, the murder of Alba's boss. But the series has more important themes that make the story a bit more complex. Perhaps one of the most important is the family ties. The relationships between the different characters, as we think we understand them at the beginning, turn out to be a bit different than expected. It is constantly a question of how far everyone will go to protect secrets and control others; a bit like we also know from ‘Succession’. Another important theme is the attention given to the female characters in the series. They all have to find a way to escape from situations filled with violence. Events that screenwriter Nils-Antoine Sambuc sees reflected in real life and therefore wanted to incorporate into the story. “The issue of violence against women, of power dynamics, these are themes we have been dealing with for a while and are extraordinarily interesting.”
These are the most beautiful locations from the series
Due to the dark story, it all might feel a bit heavy, but fortunately, there is also something light to enjoy: the beautiful filming locations. And in a series that largely takes place in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, there are plenty of those. One of the places where filming took place is Èze, a coastal town in Alpes-Maritimes. It is situated on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, which fits the mysterious atmosphere of the story. Anyone booking a trip here should definitely not miss the famous hiking trail Chemin de Nietzsche. You can also step into the world of ‘Soleil Noir’ for a moment in Nice. The colorful buildings and streets of the city served as the backdrop for various scenes. Not only was there France filming, the cast and crew also traveled to Italy. In the Tuscan town of Montepulciano, they made use of the medieval buildings to give the series a slightly different atmosphere at times.
Will there be a second season of Soleil Noir?
The downside of new series is that it is always uncertain whether a sequel will come. With a successful start like that of ‘Soleil Noir’, you would think everything is fine, but streaming services often want to wait a bit longer before making a decision. Without spoiling, we can say that not all questions are answered by the end of this first season. There are still some possibilities to continue. What also helps is that this is not a miniseries; there was therefore not a clear plan in advance to make the last episode the definitive end. Lead actress Ava Baya would certainly like to return to her role. “I hope so, yes, I hope so. I don't necessarily participate in these discussions, but I would like to insist that it happens.” The first signals are therefore positive, but for now, we will have to be patient. ‘Soleil Noir’ is now available on Netflix.
Image: MVSRS
