Awarded at the Canneseries festival, “Red Light” begins this Thursday, February 24 on Arte. Plunged into the hell of human trafficking, this program paints the portrait of three complex heroines caught up in an infernal spiral, including a pimp played by the excellent Carice van Houten.
red-light: in the hell of human trafficking
Consisting of ten episodes, the series red-light lands on Arte. After marking the public with the role of Melisandre in Game Of Thrones, Carice van Houten is making her big comeback on the small screen with this program, awarded by the Interpretation Prize and the High School Student Prize at Canneseries in 2020. Here she lends her features to Sylvia, a pimp from Antwerp who finds herself in an infernal spiral also involving Evi (Maaike Neuville) and Esther (Halina Reijn).
Although they come from opposite backgrounds, these women are projected into the world of human trafficking. To survive, they will need each other. This Flemish thriller takes place between Belgium and the Netherlands, and more precisely between Antwerp and Amsterdam.
An immersion in the shallows over which Sylvia reigns with her companion Ingmar (Geert Van Rampelberg). In addition to managing their “showcases”, the couple runs illegal brothels where they exploit young women from Africa and Eastern countries. Their life changes when one of their clients, who is none other than Esther’s husband, is murdered.
Sylvia Steenhuyzen (Carice van Houten) – red-light ©Arte
Evi is in charge of the investigation of this murder. Fighting against her alcoholism, the policewoman immerses herself body and soul in the case, intrigued by the personalities of the pimp and the famous singer who has just lost her husband. Beyond depicting a particularly dark and cruel universe, red-light trained the portrait of three strong, complex, and troubled heroines created by Carice van Houten and Halina Reijn.
Two best friends writing
At the initiative of this series, Carice van Houten developed it with several co-writers, including her playmate and best friend. The two actresses have known each other for many years and have notably played together in the excellent Black Book by Paul Verhoeven, released in 2006.
In this feature film, Carice van Houten plays Ellis de Vries, a young Jewish woman who joins the Resistance and manages to infiltrate the German Intelligence Service. During her mission, she crosses paths with Ronnie, played by Halina Reijn, a secretary devoid of illusions who skillfully plays her cards to survive.
Very famous in Holland, the tandem is then talked about because of its proximity. The rumors around their alleged romance circulated for a while, but Carice van Houten denies them. Outraged Black Book the actresses also both appeared in Valkyriereleased in 2009.
Ten years later, Halina Reijn directs her accomplice in the thriller Instinct, by entrusting her with the role of a psychoanalyst who falls under the spell of a repeat offender. Finally, they wrote the book together Antiglamorpublished in 2013, through which they recount their unique relationship.
Their collaboration, therefore, takes a new step with a red-light, breathtaking thriller centered on a powerful subject. The series is to discover on Arte from February 24, 2022.
