TV Miniseries Review: Marco Polo

[shadowfireflame]

Just spent the last two days blazing through the ten episodes of Marco Polo, a new series by Netflix, which is gaining a reputation for amazing programs like Orange is the New Black and House of CardsThis series is based on Italian explorer Marco Polo’s time in the court of Kublai Khan during the late Song dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan

Comments

[mirabile_dictu]

Thank you for the review -- we've been wondering about the series and you really sold it. And thanks for the link! Gorgeous opening. Wow, you studied in China? That is so cool! Thanks again.

[shadowfireflame]

I got to study there at quite a dynamic time: right before China hosted the 2008 Beijing Olympics, though I was able to see many different cities in addition to Beijing. Our plane landed right as the devastating earthquake hit Sichuan province. We were actually scheduled to visit Tibet, but there was civil unrest and rioting, and the Chinese government disallowed access to that area.

I love to watch movies about China but often find that Western-made movies don't even attempt to show the complexity of the region or its history, so I was pleased that this series really made an effort and didn't pretend that the West was more technologically advanced (indeed, the series shows that in the 1270s China was using gunpowder in warfare).