series review
New to RTL+
“House of Dreams”: The series shows the 1920s in Berlin – and they weren’t just golden
Vicky and Harry go through difficult times together in the series “House of Dreams”.
© RTL / XFilme Creative Pool / Stefan Erhard
“House of Dreams” is the new history series on RTL+. It’s about the history of the Jonass department store in Berlin – and about all sorts of feelings beyond the sales counter.
The “House of Dreams” not only tells a complicated love story. The twelve-part series shows how women lived a hundred years ago and what social expectations there were.
Berlin, 1928: The young Vicky Mahler (Naemi Florez) comes from the countryside to the big city and hopes for a better life there. She only has one suitcase with her and wants to stay with her friend Doris. But the suitcase is immediately stolen from her – and Doris, who, according to her letters, has married a rich man with marble floors, actually lives in the poor Scheunenviertel. Tragically, it has to be called alive, because shortly before the two can meet, Doris commits suicide.
The dismayed Vicky finds a place to stay with the dancer Elsie Schön (Amy Benkenstein), she lives in a room with three other women. The four share a bed and have divided shifts: Elsie and Vicky are allowed to have the bed during the day, the other two sleep at night. The two roam through dance bars together, where Vicky not only gets to know the dazzling city life, but also the pianist Harry (Ludwig Simon). When she finds out his last name, however, their two fates are already inseparably intertwined.
As the episodes progress, the story of the Jonass department store at Torstraße 1 in Berlin, where Elsie and Vicky finally start out as saleswomen, becomes increasingly important. And that actually existed: it was the first credit department store. For the first time it was possible to pay in installments, making it possible for poorer people to buy a hat before they had the money for it. For Vicky and many others it will be the “house of dreams”. For the series, it forms the focal point where all the characters gather in different constellations and come together again.
“House of Dreams”: The series is based on true events
The Jewish owners of the Jonass were later expropriated. After the National Socialists came to power, the building was the headquarters of the Hitler Youth and later the central committee of the SED. An eventful story that was already told in the novel “Torstraße 1” by author Sybil Volks, which serves as a template for the series. And should certainly offer enough material for further seasons.
The series clearly shows the “Golden Twenties” and that they weren’t golden for everyone. With topics such as anti-Semitism, abortion, emancipation, poverty and class differences, many topics are touched upon, but not always deepened. The narrative style is reminiscent of the successful ZDF production “Ku’Damm”, which traces the fate of the Schöllack dance school and its owners and is therefore a must for “Ku’Damm” fans. But everyone else can look forward to entertaining entertainment without too much kitsch.
Because always, just before it threatens to become too cheesy or too serious, the plot takes an interesting turn that is not always predictable.
The “House of Dreams” series will be available to stream on RTL+ from September 18, 2022.