There are days that change everything. Sometimes it is decisions by world leaders or protest actions that turn things upside down, for the Flemish media landscape that is the moment when an unknown Camille Dhont sang ‘It’s over’ in #LikeMe. With her glamorous and energetic cover of the Mama’s Jasje hit, she showed a first glimpse of what Van Dale now considers ‘Camille magic’. A multi-talent who gives a bright pink energy boost to national show business and brings together several generations. In the years after ‘It’s over’, the undersigned also hung his wagon on the Dhont Express. The journey sometimes felt like a fever dream. For example, her rendition of Beyoncé’s “Listen” in a cat suit during The Masked Singer was absurdly emotional. When she later performed a flat dance hit by 2 Fabiola for Liefde voor Muziek as if it were an undiscovered work by Jacques Brel, it felt as confusing as it was fresh.
Camille helped break down the distinction between high and low culture, but at the latest stop on her professional journey she asks a lot of her audience. In the new VTM telenovelle Milo, she portrays a shy girl who dreams of a life on stage in a somewhat wooden way. However, those around her forbid her to use her golden voice. When she takes a job in the cafeteria of an exclusive performing academy in the opening episode, the spotlight comes closer than ever. Narratively speaking, it is not an innovative approach, but that in itself is not a problem. After two minutes it is clear how each telenovella will end, the fun should mainly lie in being able to spend a lot of time with great characters.
After the extra long starting episode, it seems that Milo’s shoe may start to pinch there. The character drawings are so one-dimensional that even acclaimed actors such as Katelijne Verbeke or Mathijs F Scheepers sleepwalk through their scenes. It is no state secret that telenovelas are made at a breakneck pace and it is in any case too early to make a definitive judgement, but there is still a problem when the featured dog performs his role most credibly. Certainly the chemistry between the title character and her favorite singer Liam (Mathias Mesmans) is still lacking. Their relationship should become the backbone of the series, but it is not convincing for the time being.
Milo is not made for fans of multi-layered television and there is no doubt that rabid Camille fans will enjoy the new episodes four times a week. Yet it remains a shame that the creative team does not fully utilize the potential of its leading actress. The series was announced as a musical telenovella, but the first episode does not contain a single song with extensive choreography and there is no live singing even in game scenes. The new songs that were written for the series have some pretty cringeworthy lyrics. “We were sitting in a café / there aren’t two girls like that / I have to do something with this,” Liam sings in his biggest hit. A telenovela requires a certain form of suspension of disbelief, but with such a song it is difficult to understand why Milo falls for him and does not immediately opt for a preventive restraining order.
Milo can be seen on VTM from Monday to Thursday.
2024-01-08 00:17:07
#Camille #helped #demolish #distinction #high #culture #telenovella #asks #lot #audience
