The movie is my favourite Bulgarian tv series!
From season 1 I can't wait to watch every new season! Each storyline is unique and so interesting! Well presented and with more than great actors cast!
7 Reviews
The best Bulgarian movie ever!
diulgerova050624 June 2019
The best series ever!
diulgerova050623 May 2018
Sofia: Day & Night
lachezarmatneshliev14 December 2022
The idea of moving abroad is always appealing, whether you want to live somewhere with a better quality of living or simply have an insatiable appetite for travel untill ''Stolen Life''. But where to start? It may help to look at some ironclad data in DTF. Unrivalled inspiration, these are from exceptional cast and high quality of acting play performances! ''Stolen Life'' remains one of the most entertainment series. The DTF shines with all of cast and crew best traits - sophisticated, stylish, free-spirited - and continues to attract viewer's with its world-class art and famed coffee and cuisine. We do it right this time! Not to mention an incredible healthcare system. When your finish we order from Japan special! For starters, Osaka is one of the best food cities in all of Japan. Regional specialities include takoyaki (battered, fried octopus balls) and okonomiyaki (grilled savoury pancakes with a variety of additions). The serial has the appeal without many of the common downsides - it's funny, easy to get around, and extremely friendly. Best of all, it benefits from all cast and crew famously great healthcare and education of the human organism. Scenario of the serial has a vibrant arts and theatre plot and great scene, plus lovely views that will make you forget about anywhere else you've lived or worked! Most importantly, the all cast and crew here are so friendly, you'll feel at home immediately.
Not worth your time
kalit-622113 January 2019
Honestly, there is nothing to look forward to in this series. It's completely obvious that the writers are more interested in filling a slot for prime-time television, rather than actually having any interested in telling any story whatsoever. The fact that they've made over 200, one hour episodes in less than two years, is proof how soulless and mechanically it's produced.
Story.
There is no cohesive story. It really is just "whatever the writers have decided to put the characters through this season". The official description only tells a shallow plot-hook for a plot that is already resolved without any impact, regarding a character that really isn't that relevant to the story anymore, which is typical for the series that air on this channel. A continuous problem is that plot points pop and disappear, and the story just moves on, because consequences aren't important, because the producers only care about baiting people to watch "for the moment" and there is nothing to get people to look back for any "memorable" moments. All major plots are thought up, solely to create short and tense shots for the "next time on..." segment during the end credits. The dialogue is also some of the worst I've ever heard. They all sound like they're reciting overdramatic 8th grade poetry, but forgot to put some taught into what they're saying. Every episode ends with a random character summing up how they feel at the end of the day, in that "deep as a puddle way". I guess that's what writers think, high art sounds like. Also god help us, every time there is a child character on screen, because they usually tend to be the worst. They never sound like children, but more like what 40 year old writers think children sound like. And not to be too harsh on them, but they usually pick the least interested kids to play the roles, which can be felt in their rushed or tired reading of the lines, no different than when a kid has to read a paper in front of the class.
Characters
These are not characters, they are archetypes. We have the grumpy veteran doctor, the grumpy young rival doctor, the grumpy elder nurse, the grumpy foreign expert doctor and his equally grumpy love interest. Notice a pattern? Everyone being constantly depressed creates this drab and boring atmosphere. The only lighter moments are when someone confesses his or her love for someone and then they have sex.(again, only for marketing purposes). No one does a believable job at portraying whatever personality there respective characters have. And I know for a fact, that some of these are good actors. Some characters exist solely for stirring up drama and attempting to move the plot forward, but it gets so monotonous that you might as well play a single episode on repeat and you would get the same gratification of watching an entire season.
Production
I would not be surprised if it turns out that each episode doesn't have a director so much as it has just camera operators trying to get their shift done. From an inside source I know that they have 3-4 units filming at the outstanding three sets this series has. Operating room, hospital corridor and that one apartment where apparently everyone lives at. Also they film all the intimate moments on the hospital rooftop. Quantity over quality is probably the studio slogan, as filling all the weekday nights for half the year is their top priority, evident that 3ach episode is roughly 40-50 minutes and each season is over 50 episodes. This leads to some very boring and straightforward blocking and cinematography. Shot, reverse shot and master for each conversation. And the occasional tracking shot for when a character has to walk down the corridor to get to the next room to have another serious conversation with the next character they have a problem with this week. They add slight movement.l, like minimal push-ins and slides to some scenes, so the audience doesn't actually fall asleep.
And post production isn't any better either, the editing is atrocious. There are severe rookie mistakes that stick out like a sore thumb. The way they handle insert shots and establishing shots, looks like they give the job to the intern because his uncle is an exec or something, which wouldn't surprise , considering the people working behind this. Which is jarring considering the static shot coverage that I already mentioned. In theory it should be the easiest job, editing these linear episodes, but they manage to screw this up as well. The color grading also looks intentionally bad. I will never understand shows that like to just delete all the vibrant colors and push in black, brown and a desaturated dark blue, resulting in a "edge lords first Instagram filter" look. You know the one I'm talking about.
Finally the music is the most forgettable and "background noise" style of music you can imagine. Low-pitched bass and occasional violin themes appear, just to fill in the quiet void, when the character are mercifully silent. They probably spend all their music budget on creating the 15 second opening theme and that's it. Things like recurring themes, motifs and character themes are probably an alien concept to them, since the soundtrack exist solely because they where taught that films should have music.
Conclusion
We live in a sort-of new golden era of television. An endless supply of shows and series are never more than a few clicks away, and in a world where much better shows exist, this one really shouldn't be a choice for a watch. I couldn't even recommend it for a ironic watch, since it is also miles form the "so bad it's good" zone, unless you like underacting, muted colors and the same three shots and plotlines over and over again. I understand that as a Bulgarian series, it isn't created to break any mold, since most bulgarian viewers don't really care what they watch, they just want to turn on the TV after coming home to work, and feel like they're watching dramatic storytelling. But that's what thos show has in it's favor. It wants to be a grand drama like the likes ER or Grey's anatomy, or even try to.mimic being an HBO series, but in reality it should embrace the fact that it is a soap opera. With plots involving amnesia, comas, secret twins, parental reveals and way too many love triangles. If you just want background noise and happen to stumble on this while turning on the TV, then that's perfectly fine. But if you want any semblance of a story or character driven experience, than turn around and pick anything else.
Story.
There is no cohesive story. It really is just "whatever the writers have decided to put the characters through this season". The official description only tells a shallow plot-hook for a plot that is already resolved without any impact, regarding a character that really isn't that relevant to the story anymore, which is typical for the series that air on this channel. A continuous problem is that plot points pop and disappear, and the story just moves on, because consequences aren't important, because the producers only care about baiting people to watch "for the moment" and there is nothing to get people to look back for any "memorable" moments. All major plots are thought up, solely to create short and tense shots for the "next time on..." segment during the end credits. The dialogue is also some of the worst I've ever heard. They all sound like they're reciting overdramatic 8th grade poetry, but forgot to put some taught into what they're saying. Every episode ends with a random character summing up how they feel at the end of the day, in that "deep as a puddle way". I guess that's what writers think, high art sounds like. Also god help us, every time there is a child character on screen, because they usually tend to be the worst. They never sound like children, but more like what 40 year old writers think children sound like. And not to be too harsh on them, but they usually pick the least interested kids to play the roles, which can be felt in their rushed or tired reading of the lines, no different than when a kid has to read a paper in front of the class.
Characters
These are not characters, they are archetypes. We have the grumpy veteran doctor, the grumpy young rival doctor, the grumpy elder nurse, the grumpy foreign expert doctor and his equally grumpy love interest. Notice a pattern? Everyone being constantly depressed creates this drab and boring atmosphere. The only lighter moments are when someone confesses his or her love for someone and then they have sex.(again, only for marketing purposes). No one does a believable job at portraying whatever personality there respective characters have. And I know for a fact, that some of these are good actors. Some characters exist solely for stirring up drama and attempting to move the plot forward, but it gets so monotonous that you might as well play a single episode on repeat and you would get the same gratification of watching an entire season.
Production
I would not be surprised if it turns out that each episode doesn't have a director so much as it has just camera operators trying to get their shift done. From an inside source I know that they have 3-4 units filming at the outstanding three sets this series has. Operating room, hospital corridor and that one apartment where apparently everyone lives at. Also they film all the intimate moments on the hospital rooftop. Quantity over quality is probably the studio slogan, as filling all the weekday nights for half the year is their top priority, evident that 3ach episode is roughly 40-50 minutes and each season is over 50 episodes. This leads to some very boring and straightforward blocking and cinematography. Shot, reverse shot and master for each conversation. And the occasional tracking shot for when a character has to walk down the corridor to get to the next room to have another serious conversation with the next character they have a problem with this week. They add slight movement.l, like minimal push-ins and slides to some scenes, so the audience doesn't actually fall asleep.
And post production isn't any better either, the editing is atrocious. There are severe rookie mistakes that stick out like a sore thumb. The way they handle insert shots and establishing shots, looks like they give the job to the intern because his uncle is an exec or something, which wouldn't surprise , considering the people working behind this. Which is jarring considering the static shot coverage that I already mentioned. In theory it should be the easiest job, editing these linear episodes, but they manage to screw this up as well. The color grading also looks intentionally bad. I will never understand shows that like to just delete all the vibrant colors and push in black, brown and a desaturated dark blue, resulting in a "edge lords first Instagram filter" look. You know the one I'm talking about.
Finally the music is the most forgettable and "background noise" style of music you can imagine. Low-pitched bass and occasional violin themes appear, just to fill in the quiet void, when the character are mercifully silent. They probably spend all their music budget on creating the 15 second opening theme and that's it. Things like recurring themes, motifs and character themes are probably an alien concept to them, since the soundtrack exist solely because they where taught that films should have music.
Conclusion
We live in a sort-of new golden era of television. An endless supply of shows and series are never more than a few clicks away, and in a world where much better shows exist, this one really shouldn't be a choice for a watch. I couldn't even recommend it for a ironic watch, since it is also miles form the "so bad it's good" zone, unless you like underacting, muted colors and the same three shots and plotlines over and over again. I understand that as a Bulgarian series, it isn't created to break any mold, since most bulgarian viewers don't really care what they watch, they just want to turn on the TV after coming home to work, and feel like they're watching dramatic storytelling. But that's what thos show has in it's favor. It wants to be a grand drama like the likes ER or Grey's anatomy, or even try to.mimic being an HBO series, but in reality it should embrace the fact that it is a soap opera. With plots involving amnesia, comas, secret twins, parental reveals and way too many love triangles. If you just want background noise and happen to stumble on this while turning on the TV, then that's perfectly fine. But if you want any semblance of a story or character driven experience, than turn around and pick anything else.
Amateur Dramatics
jimj4022 May 2018
As the series of "Stolen Life" ("Otkradnat Zhivot" in Bulgarian) has plodded onwards it has become more and more like a farce and less and less like a medical soap/thriller.
The acting is mediocre at best but that may be due to the plot, which is just one unbelievable and manufactured "twist" after another. The "thrills" are usually telegraphed long in advance - usually by characters eavesdropping on other people's conversations and forgetting that their own conversation was similarly overheard in the previous episode; it seems that "doctors" simply aren't smart enough to close doors/speak quietly when discussing secrets. The two thing that all the characters have in common is a much greater interest in the colleagues' anatomies than those of their patients, and the ability to invariably misunderstand any given situation.
Unless you're a hopeless medical soap addict, do yourself a favour and don't let yourself become another victim of Stolen Life...
The acting is mediocre at best but that may be due to the plot, which is just one unbelievable and manufactured "twist" after another. The "thrills" are usually telegraphed long in advance - usually by characters eavesdropping on other people's conversations and forgetting that their own conversation was similarly overheard in the previous episode; it seems that "doctors" simply aren't smart enough to close doors/speak quietly when discussing secrets. The two thing that all the characters have in common is a much greater interest in the colleagues' anatomies than those of their patients, and the ability to invariably misunderstand any given situation.
Unless you're a hopeless medical soap addict, do yourself a favour and don't let yourself become another victim of Stolen Life...
I pity the actors
vencigfx3 December 2020
I pity the actors having to remember such a boring and depressing dialogue, full of medical adverts and time-filling, but empty sentences.....
Last few seasons felt like something is laundering money, instead creating quality TV.
Pretty average repetitive and predictable storyline
jeanharlowarchive17 May 2021
The tv series's plot is a good idea showcasing the real problems of patients in hospital and recreating the inside drama between the doctors and emphasizing on corruption something that bulgaria is dealing a lot with. Unfortunately after so many seasons of the show pretty much nothing has evolved and everything seems very monotonous. This is what really drives me away from it. The actors are doing a decent job but one thing is for sure when the director isn't very good at what he's doing the cast wouldn't be as well as much as i don't want to sound very negative about the show. Definitely the show doesn't do justice to the original idea and to what it could've been done to make it really great! Still it's a good show for those who want to watch something about health care in the mean time.
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