Bonfire Of Destiny' is a crackling gem you wouldn't expect!

During this quarantine, my endless scroll of streaming websites has become more intense and nit-picky. What do I want to see? that? maybe this? maybe. Maybe not. But one perk of being stuck at home is that I am revisiting shows that I didn't give a chance to checking out yet. 'Bonfire of Destiny' is one of those.

I love a good period drama and French television always tends to be pretty good! I had never heard of anyone talking about this show and however that usually checks boxes for me, I was still a little unsure whether to take the plunge because sometimes I come across some really bad doozies. On researching that it was based on a real event 'The Bazar de la Charité' which was an annual charity event organized by the French Catholic aristocracy in Paris from 1885 onwards. It is infamous for the fire at the 1897 bazaar that claimed 126 lives, many of them aristocratic women I was compelled to know more, and see how this unfurls in a reproduction of events.

The show focuses on three main women who are in very different positions and affliction before the fire begins. And their lives are flipped around in the aftermath. I have to really shower compliments to the show for the gradual, and uneasy way they presented the fire and the bad side of humanity from how the crowds race and throw each other aside to an attempt to escape. The acting is so good to the point that I felt ill and I felt my heart beat hard from the claustrophobia and the good use of space and build-up that the creators showed. And from that point, everything in the show is gripping and scenarios of abuse are aplenty and you find yourself rooting for the heroines are every turn to escape their affliction.

None more so then Rose who is kidnapped by a grieving mother who in discovering her daughter died in the fire, desperately takes Rose who has a striking resemblance to her in order to look after her grandson. Rose had been set to leave for new York with her husband so this creates a complicated situation that presents all kinds of morality questions. Should Rose stay and look after this boy and be subjected to unhappiness, or leave and face being rejected by her husband for her burns?

This show is clever and steadfast. I enjoyed the characters - especially the children. Camille - who receives a letter from her mother who is presumed dead from the fire is brave and daring in the face of her father who is violent. The storylines are very interesting and you definitely invest in these women. The costumes are great and the dialogue isn't your standard Victorian style. These characters are dynamic although, at times, maybe slightly inaccurate to real Victorian women of the time but believability is never lost. It comes across as if it is.

Drama that is not in English is sometimes looked over but I would implore you to give 'Bonfire Of Destiny' a go. See what you think, and I would love to hear back from you about what you thought.

Find 'Bonfire Of Destiny' on Netflix now