Drops of God - Apple TV -Spoiler Free Review
French + English + Japanese Show - Must watch!
Name of the Show: Drops of God
Channel: Apple TV
Language: English, French. Japanese with subtitles
Genre: Drama
Recommendation: Must Watch!
I wanted Apple TV to see part 2 of Pachinko. I watched it and said , “Ok I am done with Apple TV. We can cancel the subscription”. Then Apple started recommending shows based on my previous watches. I have received recommendations from Netflix, Prime, Hulu and others. But so far, Apple is head and shoulders above the others. We are at 100% match rate! And this one — Drops of God, leads the pack.
A prominent wine collector dies. His wine collection, considered one of the finest in the world is worth billions. He was deeply attached to his collection and wants only the most deserving candidate to inherit it. The 2 choices are — the estranged daughter, who loathes the father she has not seen since age 9 and the Japanese student, considered by the connoisseur to be his best student. He sets a series of tests to check their excellence and the winner would win it all. The series of 8 episodes focuses on these tests and how each of them goes about getting the answer. Through their quest for answers, the 2 candidates discover more about themselves, their past connections to the deceased man (and through him to wine), they and the audience are taught the subtilities of identifying wines, their composition, their vintage, their history and so on. This series is a whole college course on Oenology and Enology. I am a lifelong teetotaler, with no interest whatsoever in wine, and yet I found myself drawn to the scientific knowledge, the presentation and the creativity behind wines. I read later that Sébastien Pradal, a career sommelier was a consultant on the show. His love and expertise shows in every frame.
Dont let the background info fool you into thinking this is a documentary on wines or a drama about inheritance. It is set in the temple of wines. The characters are connected by the story of inheritance, but this show is all about the different people, the human side of those people. We are all a composition of our senses and how our senses react and work with our wiring defines our passions, our creativity and ultimately or life purpose. Each character is carefully crafted and played to perfection by the actor. They use languages — French, Japanese, and English to infuse a musical orchestration of words, culture, interactions and stories to really bring the viewers senses to life. When she said she could smell celery, I could smell celery. When they saw burgundy towards purple in the colors, I could see it in their glass and felt the vintage in my bones. When they lovingly held the bottle and just so subtly popped it open, without a pop, we as viewers let a collective gasp at the perfection we were taught to expect. This was a 3D drama, with every viewer becoming a character for how it drew you in and kept you center stage. The story was beautifully written, with methodical care for use of every sense, every emotion to perfection. Once again, how I envy a screenplay writer who could write this so it could be executed just so.
This is one of my favorite shows of 2024. For its timeless execution and perfection, this may well be in my all time best shows list. Watch it and be prepared to be moved by it. This is not a multi tasking show. Watch it only when you have the time to be overpowered by it. Enjoy!