I first must say I watched this in the original language and subtitled. That precludes me from catching a lot of the subtext that only understanding the spoke dialect gives one. That aside:
The production levels on this series is high. The weapons master - got it RIGHT. The costumes, and, I am no expert, seem to be RIGHT. Everyone who isn't the higher ups, are appropriately dirtier as you go down the social scale, but it seems to be in place.
The set dressers, got it RIGHT.
So, why bad reviews?
Maybe because it wasn't action by the second, but, characters are developed, plot lines merge and separate. I enjoy these foreign productions,I am watching it on Netflix, who I am told have production facilities world wide and bring content we would not usually see.
Worth while entertainment.
59 Reviews
Good story with great actors.
eefwijnhoven2 January 2020
The best flamish serie I ve seen
coen-234-200852 January 2020
Promising start, pitiful end
laila-truyen23 September 2020
The story of Jan de Lichte is a beautiful piece of flemish television that shows their skill in writing a historical drama. A combination of great actors and a impressive set really had me engaged with the plot for the better half of the series. Costume design is on point. Characters are well written, though some I felt needed some more development along the way. The episodes are well structured.
However, all fairy tales must come to an end, and this one ended way to soon, regretfully before the actual finale. A sudden death occurs, and just when I thought these writers might actually have the guts to write a story with consequences, they retrace their steps. Characters that seemed carefully build up change unrecognisably in the span of a single episode. The ending feels rushed and undeserved, as if they were abruptly reminded this was the finale 15 minutes before the end.
All in all, deserves a watch. Don't get your hopes up for a statisfying finale though.
However, all fairy tales must come to an end, and this one ended way to soon, regretfully before the actual finale. A sudden death occurs, and just when I thought these writers might actually have the guts to write a story with consequences, they retrace their steps. Characters that seemed carefully build up change unrecognisably in the span of a single episode. The ending feels rushed and undeserved, as if they were abruptly reminded this was the finale 15 minutes before the end.
All in all, deserves a watch. Don't get your hopes up for a statisfying finale though.
Average
Placiddragon10 January 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The acting is overall quite solid. It seems to be a clear cut "Robin Hood'esque" tale, just with guns instead of bows. Most elements from "Robin Hood" is there, from "the damsel in distress" to "the evil priest" and "bad people in charge" in general, down to the actual "good guys in the woods". The story follows a very predictable path (this far), and i am hoping there is a twist in the latter half of the season.
I watched the first episode twice, first in its native language (which i dont understand), and then with English voice over. It didn't lose much, so i stuck with the voice over for the remaining episodes (done watching episode 5 as of writing this).
Perfectly serviceable show, but it didn't "jump out at me" in any aspect.
I watched the first episode twice, first in its native language (which i dont understand), and then with English voice over. It didn't lose much, so i stuck with the voice over for the remaining episodes (done watching episode 5 as of writing this).
Perfectly serviceable show, but it didn't "jump out at me" in any aspect.
Very stylish, well acted series about the Robin Hood of the low countries
slash83_mus2 January 2020
Jan de Lichte was a war veteran who turned bandit in mid-18th century Flanders (not 17th century like other reviewers point out). His story has been published several times before and this series marks the first modern and dedicated screenadaptation.
Acting is surprisingly solid and consistent. The production values are great. There are lots of details to make everything believable and the set pieces are truly beautiful at times,even though the forest scenes lack atmosphere, but that's inherent to the fact they are.. Well, forests. And de Lichte, like Robin Hood, operated mainly from the woods.
The series does a good job portraying 18th century society, during the last decades we came to know as the ancien regime. De Lichte's antagonist is a baljuw (bailiff) who battles against both the bandits and the moral decay in, and corruption amongst, the powers in charge of the area: the lower nobility, the mayor of a small town and the clergy.
Although the story seems to suffer from slowdowns in its pace and the cinematography is too bland and grey for my taste, this is truly one of the best series to come from the low countries in quite some time.
Defenitely worth the watch!
Acting is surprisingly solid and consistent. The production values are great. There are lots of details to make everything believable and the set pieces are truly beautiful at times,even though the forest scenes lack atmosphere, but that's inherent to the fact they are.. Well, forests. And de Lichte, like Robin Hood, operated mainly from the woods.
The series does a good job portraying 18th century society, during the last decades we came to know as the ancien regime. De Lichte's antagonist is a baljuw (bailiff) who battles against both the bandits and the moral decay in, and corruption amongst, the powers in charge of the area: the lower nobility, the mayor of a small town and the clergy.
Although the story seems to suffer from slowdowns in its pace and the cinematography is too bland and grey for my taste, this is truly one of the best series to come from the low countries in quite some time.
Defenitely worth the watch!
Flemish sense of humor
barabeusz2 February 2020
Production on a decent level when it comes to actors costumes scenery. Plot overall good however seems stretched at some points especially beginning. When it comes to bandits themselves they seem to be the most boring Ive ever seen. I cannot recall a single joke from this series but maybe that's just the way flemish are, that I dont know :D
Aint that bad
dre5042 January 2020
And definitely not worth a 1 that the revieuwer below gave it. Absurd rating.
Normally i would give you the Show a 6 or 7, but it doesnt deserve lower then that (in my opinion)
Anyways, i watched this with original dutch audio. And its a ok watch, better the average dutch/belgium productions i would say. Its interesting to see a show in that time.
Anyways, i watched this with original dutch audio. And its a ok watch, better the average dutch/belgium productions i would say. Its interesting to see a show in that time.
Too slow
brianlfc-026768 April 2020
Good, but it could have been better
noveljunkie-8367925 March 2020
As a fan of period dramas, I quickly added this to my watch list. The actors are good, the production is high standard, and the story looks believable.
I didn't know it was based on a book, I learned it here. Even so, the plot could have been improved.
The first episodes drag a little, while parts of the plot became neglected. The development of the romance between Jan and Anne-Marie was a tad clouded in my opinion. We don't learn they will be a thing until the middle of the season.
As characters go, Baru came out not so clear. In the beginning, he seems to understand crime and the social motivators behind it, only to turn his back on the underprivileged later on. From a sensible, fair civil servant, he ends up just like the villains.
The suppression of women, the use of them as chattels, the pressures of religion and a patriarchal society are present but up to a point. The female characters are depicted as catty and non-cooperative with each other, a typical way male directors show women in their work. As a woman and a feminist, this bores me to distraction.
The plot, with an impoverished country, exploited poor people, and conflicted characters, had the potential to make it explode. The perfect formula for upheaval, to turn it all upside down. A revolution could have erupted and made things so much more exciting. Instead, everyone keeps the status-quo. The poor continue poor, the rich continue rich, and nobody learns anything from their experience. I suppose the pampered Dutch of the 21st century forgot how hard life could be in Europe in the 18th century.
The end was alright for me, but even that doesn't teach anything. We don't get the feeling that something (good or bad) came out of it.
All in all, entertaining, but not remarkable.
I didn't know it was based on a book, I learned it here. Even so, the plot could have been improved.
The first episodes drag a little, while parts of the plot became neglected. The development of the romance between Jan and Anne-Marie was a tad clouded in my opinion. We don't learn they will be a thing until the middle of the season.
As characters go, Baru came out not so clear. In the beginning, he seems to understand crime and the social motivators behind it, only to turn his back on the underprivileged later on. From a sensible, fair civil servant, he ends up just like the villains.
The suppression of women, the use of them as chattels, the pressures of religion and a patriarchal society are present but up to a point. The female characters are depicted as catty and non-cooperative with each other, a typical way male directors show women in their work. As a woman and a feminist, this bores me to distraction.
The plot, with an impoverished country, exploited poor people, and conflicted characters, had the potential to make it explode. The perfect formula for upheaval, to turn it all upside down. A revolution could have erupted and made things so much more exciting. Instead, everyone keeps the status-quo. The poor continue poor, the rich continue rich, and nobody learns anything from their experience. I suppose the pampered Dutch of the 21st century forgot how hard life could be in Europe in the 18th century.
The end was alright for me, but even that doesn't teach anything. We don't get the feeling that something (good or bad) came out of it.
All in all, entertaining, but not remarkable.
De bende van Jan de Lichte
oversmaak22 January 2020
A little cynical I started watching the Flemish series 'De bende van Jan de Lichte' after the famous book by Louis Paul Boon, because book adaptations often disappoint. Especially with favorite books. Already at the start I was pleasantly surprised and my attention caught. The medieval atmosphere is impressive and realistic and the acting is great. Although the storyline sometimes deviates, the book is really honored in my mind. It is a dark 'rascal novel' as the book was intended. A real pleasure to immerse yourself for hours in the Middle Ages and not be dissapointed. A very low rating is not to be taken serious.
Mostly good
zippytango28 January 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Spoilers! With no knowledge of the novel the series followed, all I can say is that i thought it was very well done but for two points: the references to "America" were more like an unwanted advertisement than an element in the story, and the final execution of Jan was shown in an entirely tasteless, excessive manor even for such a violent film as this.
Could have been so much better
rutgervdb17 March 2021
If it wasn't for the bad writing and inumerable tropes.
First episode was extremely promising and set the stage really well. Then the believability and historical accuracy went out the window as the pace slowed down.
The setting is great but they ruined it with satanic worship, mud covered righteous poor people vs. cartoonish evil rich people. Any character development in the series was not believable at all.
The writing just got worse and worse. It's as if they immediately ran out of inspiration, enthusiasm and time after the pilot.
Too bad because the setting and costumes were good and it could have been a great Flemish production. Some of the actors were good too.
PS: the real Jan de Lichte was a murdering, stealing scumbag who robbed and killed common people. So no Robin Hood at all.
First episode was extremely promising and set the stage really well. Then the believability and historical accuracy went out the window as the pace slowed down.
The setting is great but they ruined it with satanic worship, mud covered righteous poor people vs. cartoonish evil rich people. Any character development in the series was not believable at all.
The writing just got worse and worse. It's as if they immediately ran out of inspiration, enthusiasm and time after the pilot.
Too bad because the setting and costumes were good and it could have been a great Flemish production. Some of the actors were good too.
PS: the real Jan de Lichte was a murdering, stealing scumbag who robbed and killed common people. So no Robin Hood at all.
Well made drama, never boring, terrible captions.
pritchetts11424 February 2021
This is well made, except for one glaring error. The closed captions are garbage. The meanings of the subtitles do not match what is being said, enough to be quite irritating. They are close enough to understand what is going on, but all the subtleties of the screen writer's words and their implications are lost. Whoever wrote the captions gave no care at all to being accurate, and is clearly a young person whose native language is American English.
I am hard of hearing, so I use captions or subtitles to get the few words or phrases I may miss here and there. Words with similar meanings do NOT mean exactly the same thing. There are tens of thousands of words in the English language simply so one can express any concept or emotion as exactly as possible. That why there are screen writers, authors, other creators whose words are valued. The captions here are flagrantly uncaring of the filmaker's work.
Definitely worth a watch, shut off all subtitles.
brettlaw-1825315 February 2020
Excellent
imanihenry4 January 2020
Warning: Spoilers
If you are looking for a good political uprising film that is well written and acted , I highly recommend The Flemish Bandits/ Thieves in the Woods . Warning expect gender & class based violence
Wish there was a Season 2
A Crime Story dressed as a Costume Drama.
avezzanoandrea1 March 2020
This series tells the story of an ex soldier and disertor, accused for the killing of a camrade, who come back in his own little city in Belgium and became leader of the local group of thieves and rebels. Is indeed a crime story set in the 18th century. I found it really good for cinematography and in general well written, even if lacks sometimes in character development and overall some characters are a little flat, given the fact that some actors should have done better. The ideals of justice and social rights are centre for the developing of the contrasts between the characters. In the end is a good series for those who likes historical drama.
''Os Saqueadores'' a.K.a ''Thieves Of The Wood'' or ''The Flemish Bandits''
yusufpiskin6 January 2020
Set in the heart of 18th Century Flanders, Thieves of the Wood is a pretty good period drama, even if it does fall a little too far into melodramatic waters toward the end of the series. For the most part though, the show does well to juggle its central cast of characters, with Jan the most likable out the bunch. With some gritty visuals and some decent production design, this Flemish drama is certainly enough to warrant a watch, even if it's unlikely to ignite the period drama scene.
Admittedly, I don't know an awful lot about this period of history, which is party why the drama is so appealing. At the heart of it though lies returning soldier Jan, who discovers that corruption is rife in his hometown, thanks in part to the sick and poor exiled to the forests. With a clear class divide this early acting as fuel for the conflicts ahead, on the other side of the fence is Baru, a new bailiff keen on instilling reform and changes. The third and final main storyline revolves around Heloise and together, this trio of characters essentially anchor the drama to the usual tropes you'd expect.
There are hints of a Robin Hood-esque plot at work here and throughout the series most of the drama revolves around a road being built which acts as the crux of conflict for both sides. As the series grows, this does change slightly to incorporate more romantic themes but there are a couple of nice twists late on that keep things interesting. I won't give too much away but suffice to say if you like character drama and soapy elements, Thieves of the Wood is a pretty good option.
Aesthetically at least, the show looks great. There's a stark contrast between the rich and poor here, deliberately showcased through extreme close ups of the mud and dirt, while wide, sweeping shots of the lavish interiors offers the reverse for the rich. It's a subtle trick but one that does work well to reinforce the themes that play out across the season.
In terms of costume and production design, Thieves of the Wood does well and there's a real effort to make this as authentic as possible. Early on there's a specific curse word used that I had to look up to make sure it was befitting for the time period but beyond that, the series does well to keep things consistent and believable.
With decent visuals and an unusual setting not often showcased, Thieves of the Wood doesn't really reinvent the wheel but does a pretty good job keeping things engaging nonetheless. If you're in the mood for a period drama, this is a pretty good offering and while I wasn't a massive fan of the romantic subplot, there's enough here to make for an unremarkable but pretty solid season of entertainment.
Admittedly, I don't know an awful lot about this period of history, which is party why the drama is so appealing. At the heart of it though lies returning soldier Jan, who discovers that corruption is rife in his hometown, thanks in part to the sick and poor exiled to the forests. With a clear class divide this early acting as fuel for the conflicts ahead, on the other side of the fence is Baru, a new bailiff keen on instilling reform and changes. The third and final main storyline revolves around Heloise and together, this trio of characters essentially anchor the drama to the usual tropes you'd expect.
There are hints of a Robin Hood-esque plot at work here and throughout the series most of the drama revolves around a road being built which acts as the crux of conflict for both sides. As the series grows, this does change slightly to incorporate more romantic themes but there are a couple of nice twists late on that keep things interesting. I won't give too much away but suffice to say if you like character drama and soapy elements, Thieves of the Wood is a pretty good option.
Aesthetically at least, the show looks great. There's a stark contrast between the rich and poor here, deliberately showcased through extreme close ups of the mud and dirt, while wide, sweeping shots of the lavish interiors offers the reverse for the rich. It's a subtle trick but one that does work well to reinforce the themes that play out across the season.
In terms of costume and production design, Thieves of the Wood does well and there's a real effort to make this as authentic as possible. Early on there's a specific curse word used that I had to look up to make sure it was befitting for the time period but beyond that, the series does well to keep things consistent and believable.
With decent visuals and an unusual setting not often showcased, Thieves of the Wood doesn't really reinvent the wheel but does a pretty good job keeping things engaging nonetheless. If you're in the mood for a period drama, this is a pretty good offering and while I wasn't a massive fan of the romantic subplot, there's enough here to make for an unremarkable but pretty solid season of entertainment.
Ignorance and arrogance
dumitrubalmez10 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
In E7, at min. 31, instead of Gypsy language (Romani or any other name, I don't care) they sing in Romanian. Except the name, which is very similar and many times very convenient to some for this reason, there is absolutely no link between them.
Romani is the Gypsies international language (as gypsies are spread everywhere in Europe) and its origin is from India, while Romanian is a Latin language and official language of Romania.
I understand that the names can create confusion for low educated people. Folks pretending they are educated and that did a serious research for the movie, just show ignorance, superficiality and arrogance.
As a Romanian citizen I noticed this many times, so I'm somehow used to it. Every time somebody do this, it's not about Romania, it's about his/her level of education. Which we all know that it's lacking more and more, being replaced by the Dunning-Kruger effect.
Movie is OK, I gave it a 7.
Romani is the Gypsies international language (as gypsies are spread everywhere in Europe) and its origin is from India, while Romanian is a Latin language and official language of Romania.
I understand that the names can create confusion for low educated people. Folks pretending they are educated and that did a serious research for the movie, just show ignorance, superficiality and arrogance.
As a Romanian citizen I noticed this many times, so I'm somehow used to it. Every time somebody do this, it's not about Romania, it's about his/her level of education. Which we all know that it's lacking more and more, being replaced by the Dunning-Kruger effect.
Movie is OK, I gave it a 7.
First 5 minutes!
faisaljamshed-5677511 February 2020
Lost interest within the first 5 minutes when the main character gets up with his shirt being perfectly intact after being dragged on the ground for miles! Seriously? How do you record such gaffes in this day and age?
The best period mini series playing now on Netflix
trickstar_trippy5 January 2020
Asa fan of the old Flemish Masters, I couldn't miss Jan de Licht's exploits on Netflix. I binge watched it in two days, and I was hungry for more when it finished. It's a beautifully lensed period piece about bandits in Flandres, set in 18th century, duing the Austrian succession wars. The mini series opens en force, it has one of the best openings scenes, whose build up will remind many of the viewers of Tarantino. The casting is so spot on - many fresh faces for me, or maybe I'm not so well versed in European actors, but many of them with a pictural quality - hence many of the shots brought to mind paintings of sitters or Flemish portraits, you ve got to love those red-headed ladies, but also the men, great casting overall; but not only that, but the acting is very good, believable, which adds on to the already well fleshed out characters. Maybe the fact that the film is based on a novel helped, as many of the lines in the show are quote-worthy. It's a show about les nouveau riches, the new blood, about the bourgeoisie, about banditry and outlaws, but with relevance for today. It's a very contemporary show in tone - and aesthetics, although it pays homage to Pays Bas painting, it's very modern in terms of camera, those hand held's in the forrest, that I first saw in Black Death, are surprisingly fresh in a period piece about bandits and nobles. It can be read as a story from rags to riches, but with enough Belgian grit for the connaisseurs to enjoy. It's filthy and beautiful at the same time. The language is Flemish and it's beautiful, its mixture of Dutch and German and French, sounds so exotic to me. Watch it in original, with English or French subs.
Edited by a Chainsaw -- or written by one
dpaterson-225 January 2021
Can't continue watching. Enormous gaps in the story, almost as if episodes were left out. The film has an excellent opportunity to reveal insight on class struggle -- rotting aristocracy vs. crude and arrogant rising bourgeoisie, same bourgeoisie making plans to rule through slavery and unrestrained violence, rural proletarians fighting in Robin-Hood style to . . . who knows. So in love with the violent and grotesque it has images that seem composed by the very corrupt bourgeoisie who watch it all. Even reviewers mistake the mud-and-blood "reality" with being impressive representation of "medieval" times -- although the time is 250 years past medieval. If a viewer has a tolerance for what we saw as shoddy story telling and over-gritty settings, maybe there's something here. We couldn't find it.
Almost excellent
molnarbelgium30 January 2020
I would have given 9, just some (not all of them) dialogues sound too modern, too present day for 1749. Otherwise many details, like set, costumes, weapons, uniforms, scenes are genuine. Even most actors are amazing. Thank you, Belgium. Ah, btw I fully recommend it in Flemish (that is Dutch), though English or French dubs are not bad either. As usual, Hungarian (my mother tongue) subtitles are not always accurate, that's a shame for Netflix (thanks God they didn't dubbed it). Well, I prefer any movie/tv show in the original language, still it's hardly acceptable that Hungarian subscribers, especially those without a good command of English must pay for low quality translations. To be fair: that happens to HBO productions as well.
Great series with good acting and authenticity
apaksoy11 January 2020
This is a drama depicting well how life was in some parts of the Flamish land in 18th century for different parts of society and the relations between these parts. How women or relatively poor were treated in those times are appalling. It looks like a lot of effort was spent towards getting the living conditions accurately as well as the costumes and make-ups. The story is not that gripping but still makes you wonder what's next. I thought all actresses and actors had done a great job.
How to spoil a brilliant story
gekkepoppetje7 January 2020
A long wait for disappointment. The rawness, hunger, oppression and social deprivation that make the original story so strong have been exchanged for the holywood type of violence and sensation. Belgium, which has a kick film industry, delivers a production that leaves the harsh realism and turns to the rather dull international standards of historical drama. Novel character Tincke has a name 'that sounds like chinking coins' and he looks like a mean traitor not like a movie star. The people in the forest are starving, they are like animals, not like movie stars. If writers, casting director and art direction would have been more in line with the scenario of the, rather brilliant, comic strip by Nagel, it would have become an indestructible series.
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