American author Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer-winning 2014 novel is coming to our screens as a four-part prestige miniseries. It’s been developed by Steven Knight, who gave us Peaky Blinders and Eastern Promises—that’s good! It’s directed by Shawn Levy, who gave us Night at the Museum and The Adam Project—that’s… well, surprising.
How to watch All the Light We Cannot See in New Zealand
All the Light We Cannot See is streaming exclusively in New Zealand on Netflix from November 2.
All the Light We Cannot See: Miniseries
What is All the Light We Cannot See about?
The book, at least, follows a non-linear narrative structure. Set during World War II, it alternates between Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind French teenage girl who becomes a radio operator for the French Resistance, and Werner Pfennig, a young German soldier specialising in tracking radio frequencies used by the Resistance. Inevitably, these two will cross paths. There’s also a priceless jewel, the Sea of Flames, in the mix, which reminds us of another big budget historical epic we can’t quite remember the name of right now.
The cast of All the Light We Cannot See
First-timer Aria Mia Loberti, who is herself blind due to the genetic condition achromatopsia, is Marie-Laure LeBlanc, having beat out the competition in a world-wide search for the right actor for the role. Louis Hofmann is Werner Pfennig; Mark Ruffalo is Marie-Laure’s father, Daniel; Hugh Laurie is her great-uncle Etienne, a reclusive and PTSD-addled World War I veteran; and Lars Eidinger, Marion Bailey, Luna Wedler, Ed Skrein, Corin Silva, Milo Quinton, Felix Kammerer, Andrea Deck, and Richard Sammel round out the ensemble.
All the Light We Cannot See trailer
What are the critics saying about All the Light We Cannot See?
Oh, they have not been kind, my friends. The general consensus is that the series is a poor adaptation of the much-lauded novel—too saccharine, too sentimental, too bland, too simplistic. Aria Mia Loberti’s performance is getting praise, though. Still, maybe this needed a lighter touch than that of the Real Steel guy. Just a thought.
