It's unfortunate that this isn't more discussed, by Canadian, especially French television, is often so siloed that gems go unnoticed. This is one such series. Tightly constructed and visceral in its portrayal of an active shooter situation in a town grocery store, the series follows the characters during and after, as they deal with the fallout, and the investigation and healing-as well as trauma-begin to manifest.
Obviously, if you think you might not be able to handle watching something like this, you shouldn't try. More so than other series I've watched, Après is unequivocally hard-hitting and emotional. It is not gratuitous at all as the situation unfolds though. It's not graphic. But the acting and script is just so earnest that it becomes a challenging watch. It's heartfelt and does not pomp up the circumstances with emotional manipulation like music, and that, somehow, makes it more keen.
All of the acting is top notch, the unfolding challenges for each character, including the Why of the thing, what may or may not be known, all of it just feels and looks well researched and empathetically rendered. Everything about it is top notch. I wouldn't be surprised if it was based on an actual event.
I watched this on the app Topic, which has a lot of hidden gems like this, and it's quite cheap. If there's a trial you could watch this quite quickly. I hope more people check it out, it is affecting, respectful, and a challenging story excellently rendered.
