User reviews

Watched the first season and found it an interesting premise and when they had made the claim it was based on a true story decided to research it.

Sort of wish I had not. The truth behind the story starts in the 1990s and there have been stories, encounters, arrests, and even a play based on it along the way. The incredible part is that original Mennonite kingpin died in 1994 and his reign was taken over by a family member. Needless to say their operations did and are currently running. I won't say who since this show is starting a second season.

The show has made some changes to the history of what happened of course but the main points are being followed from what I can see. I can't speak to what motivated them into going into crime though.

The second season is taking it up some notches already from what I can see. The acting was already decent to good but with Zoie Palmer and Christopher Heyerdahl being added I am very much excited to see where it goes.

The cinemaphotography is top-notch and the music good. If you want to have an idea where the season is headed lookup Abraham Harms on cbc.ca/news/canada

A good show. Maybe it can become a VERY good show. Great concept, the struggle to resist widespread evil, or maybe even at times the desire to embrace the banality of life, with fine characters, and a good cast. I found it subdued, yet powerful, and am looking forward to the next season. It will be interesting to see how much the characters can rationalize their actions, without losing their core beliefs. And finding out what their core beliefs REALLY are. Nicely done.

Noah Funk (Ryan Robbins) plays a life changing game similar to a game you may have seen in which a card shark tries to deceive his paying audience with his sleight of hand by switching around three overturned cards and the mark has to find the right overturned card. In this case four Mennonites are asked to participate in a game in which four identical bibles are quickly mixed around on a table in front of the churches entire congregation, and the four Mennonites at the front of the church are requested to step up one by one, and select one of the four mixed up bibles. Noah Funk gets to pick his bible as the third of the four participants and lo and behold he happens to pick the only bible with the invitation to become the churches new pastor.

In Noah's role as their new pastor he is responsible for his congregations spiritual and physical well being. Evil does lurk in this little southern Ontario (Canada) town of Antioch, population 9,500. One of Noah's old schoolmates Bronco Novak (A. J. Buckley) the football jock who is now a police detective with the Antioch detachment approaches the new pastor Noah looking for assistance in the recent disappearance of a family of four Mennonites from another community after discovering their torched vehicle's registration number originated in Mexico. After contacting the U.S. drug enforcement agency, and talking to detective Phoebe O'Reilly (Rosie Perez) about the burned out car with a Mexican V.I.N. number, Bronco Novak takes a second closer look at the burnt out vehicle and he finds a kilo of pure heroin hidden in the cars under carriage.

Eli Voss (Peter Outerbridge) who is a drug mule and dealer in pure heroin disguises himself as a Mennonite, but his community fears him and what he would do to them if they went to the police authorities. In the opening scene we witness that Eli Voss is responsible for the murder of three of the four Mennonites who have their vehicle run off of the road then torched after Voss recovers his heroin from the cars under carriage. A young boy named Ezekiel Janzen (Felix Bieger) is able to escape from the wrecked car before Eli Voss can murder him along with his father and siblings, but poor Ezekiel is burdened with witnessing his father and brothers murders.

This is a drama series about hard working Mennonite families like the new pastor Noah Funk, his wife and two teenage high school aged children, trying to live their isolated lives but within a melting pot of drugs, prostitution and police corruption, and 21st century liberal attitudes. Noah Funk is accepting of his new role as his congregations new pastor, but as he tries to maneuver his way around the Mennonite criminal element, his little white lies like trying to pass orphaned Ezekiel Janzen off as his nephew, and planting drugs in the homes of the drug pushers, the drug lord Eli Voss gives Noah an ultimatum, work within the drug trade or his family will become Eli Voss's next target.

I found this series got of to a rip roaring good start and I am looking forward to how the young new pastor and his family will cope with going against the crime lord Eli Voss, and unwillingly have to rely on outsiders for support like his old high school nemesis detective Bronco Novak.

Eeny meeny miny moe, I wonder if Noah wished he had picked another bible instead of the congregations new pastors bible?

CBC's 'Pure' depicts sheltered characters struggling to survive in a suddenly brutal world. And it is that reverent portrayal of new pastor Noah Funk and his wife Anna that elevates the series beyond its already intriguing 'Mennonite Mob' premise. The first episode is a good indicator of whether or not you will enjoy the rest of the series, which maintains the steady pacing and attention to character. The showrunner, Micheal Amo, had Mennonite grandparents, and the community certainly isn't portrayed as flat or stereotypical. However, the show's weakest link is easily Detective Bronco Novak. I mean, just look at that name. He's the archetypal drunk and rebellious cop who nevertheless manages to be competent (or incompetent) at exactly the right moment. In comparison to the nuanced performances by Ryan Robbins (Noah) and Alex Paxton-Beesley (Anna), Novak somehow seems less believable than drug smuggling Mennonites. The direction is fine, and the writing and acting is pretty good across the board, with the exception of both of the Novaks. Overall, the show is at its best when it focuses on community and questions of morality,but 'Pure' still struggles to overcome conventional plot and characters

Im not a pro-movie/TV reviewer so I'll keep this short. Season 1 was perfection. Short and butter sweet. Season 2 which i thought would be a letdown was a welcome surprise. It was even better.

Saw a preview on another show went looking for it. Found it, very much liked the first season see a 2nd season is coming:)

The core characters are believable as Mennonites, but casting Rosie Perez with what I think is supposed to be a southern accent is absurd. To hire Rosie Perez for any role is foolish because they all require something she doesn't have-acting talent. Aside from the fact that she can't act, her real voice is more annoying than the fake voice Fran Dresher used to when playing The Nanny. Even in roles where she is supposed to be "pretending" to be uneducated Bronx street trash, which is something that should be as easy for her as falling down she sucks because her natural voice is so annoying it seems unrealistic. Whoever told this woman she had a future as an actor must have been playing a cruel joke on her the way someone might evilly convince a mentally handicapped person that she could be Ms. America. As far as I'm concerned the joke has gone on far too long and her trying to do a southern accent is like watching that mentally handicapped person I mentioned before enter the talent competition as a break-dancer. Hollywood, please stop hiring this woman; she ruins everything she is in the way she has in Pure because her voice is like nails on a chalkboard and hearing it takes some viewers "out of the moment" and ruins the immersive experience of the story. They could save Pure by having Detective Bronco simply call the Texas police station where an actual actor tells his character that Detective Squeakydrawl was killed in the line of duty when she tried to speak to a suspect whose head exploded at the sound of her voice and she was caught in the blast radius. If you didn't give her lines it would be the best performace of her career, but her face would still ruin the scene because she looks like a squirrel (who can't act) pretending to be human while storing nuts in its mouth. For her to be cast in anything is ridiculous, but to hire her to attempt to play something other than an uneducated Bronxite who has a weird voice and can't act even with her native New York accent is a complete farce.

Supporting cast just horrible... every law enforcement actor just terrible... including Rosie Perez...

I didn't realize or forgot that the Mennonite Mob was a real thing, starting back in the 90s, under El Chapo. The Canadian/Mexican connection is that the original Canadian colony (or colonies) split off to create the Mexican colony, thus ongoing family connections between the two. At one time, they were moving thousands of tons of weed and coke in the US and Canada. Plus some murder, extortion, etc. The things human beings become involved with, regardless of religion or creed. Note that there are many kinds of Mennonites (Anabaptists), from the most conservative Amish to very progressive Mennonites who don't live in colonies, use technology and dress modern. This series certainly covers all of the spectrum, but may jumble several groups into one, although I read that even within sects, there can be major differences. So there's not ONE Mennonite stereotype, of course.

Season 1 isn't a Canadian version (CBC production) of the quality of Breaking Bad, but it 's good enough to binge and sustain my interest, although predictable and cliched. Noah is acted and written as an intriguing character and even Bronco, the cop, adds a good counterpoint to the Mennonite "blandness", even if he is a cliche. Rose Perez is a bit of a disappointment because someone thought it would be a good idea to have her speak with a heavy (and bad) Southern US accent. Her real accent is what makes her compelling and adds to her whole package, so why a cop, based in El Paso, would be from the Southern US (Texas is NOT the traditional "South", esp not far West Texas) and be more interesting or realistic than a Latina cop, who knows. Doubt that subtlety carries over into Canada. I just hope that such errors also don't encompass the Mennonite portrayals and dress.

But the 2nd season season is almost unwatchable. It's the same basic plot, without a couple of the more interesting characters. Noah's wonderfully expressive face has been covered with a huge beard, so he's effectively been neutralized and he's not the main character anymore and his replacements can't carry the show. I'm on episode 3 and Rosie Perez has yet to make an appearance (we are presented with a lot of cop changes). The plot jumps are astounding, with no reason for them given or even implied. There's a serious lack of realism at every turn. And WHY was Noah and his family excommunicated for what they did in the 1st season? Makes NO sense. That's not a spoiler, as it's in the S2e1 description. The acting is sub-par and having an Irish/German accent can't cover up bad acting/direction. I'm about to give up on this one. It's so implausible that I even re-watched the first 2, 2nd season episodes to make sure I hadn't missed a ton of backstory, but alas, I hadn't. Season 2 is one of the worst seasons of any series I've ever seen, and that's saying a lot. Like a class of kindergartners wrote it. Enjoy the first season and move on.

Review of CBC's new show, PURE!: Canada's into hockey, NOT HOKEY!!!

By Dale Friesen (Mennonite researcher)

When I first heard of the potential and premise for this new show back in 2016, no doubt I was greatly intrigued. Who wouldn't be if they were in my situation. Coming from such an unusual situation, myself, (and ironically with the Mennonites being from a "subdued" history), I had worked my way into mainstream entertainment and media ventures, thus I have seen so much of what the "real" world is about.

Now I wasn't expecting a high budget masterpiece of a show, but somehow I felt that "Canada's MAIN media broadcaster, THE CBC, could somehow "executive produce" something more realistic.

I love stories, especially fictional where the abstract can have it's free reign to carry a person's imagination to any height or direction. And so who's ever fault it is for (especially) the really unlikely aspect of a drugged out and on probation cop (detective), solving this mystery in the way he has been so far is inexcusable writing or directing (or as mentioned, even from the CBC, itself).

Now as much as people may want to "roll their eyes" at the premise of a show like this (a Mennonite mob), well imagine this cop, (who "entangles" himself with a "prostitute" - I won't give away spoilers, here), also "flukely" finds a "Bible" at his crime scene of the wrecked car, "bumps" into his old buddy from high school ... meets up with the daughter of his old high school flame (who's also involved - because of his son, no less), and then in totally hilarious fashion, "drunkenly" falls into a lake in search of a clue, from the little boat he's in - that just so happens to be near by??????

What else can possibly get crazier, yet, in the remaining four episodes? I always try to be overly optimistic in all circumstances, etc., throughout life, but in all honesty, should I be laughing or crying as to what I've seen so far?

But not to be too hard on CBC, here, yet to sort of counter all of this with the "American" drama put out a few years ago called the "AMERICANS" (Russian spies who fake being Americans), this CBC show can't be all that bad. In my own opinion, "The Americans" had such a good premise as well, but also failed with it's hokey antics,too, and they had a much larger budget. Now "The Americans" show is still running and I've managed to keep my interest up with the premise of that show, so maybe I'll still manage to stay with PURE too, as it may get better ... hopefully.

... Anyway, if the lake can stay frozen long enough, I can go play some hockey, now.

PS. Some great scenic shots of the country side, though!

*** UPDATE***

OK, ... well here is an update to my review since I last posted. CONGRATULATIONS!!! to the show PURE! The last four episodes were absolutely fantastic and I've since become a huge fan and can't wait for the NEW season 2 to start (possibly late spring or mid 2019).

The cliff hanger at the end of ep 6 was so unexpected as well! Not sure where it will now take this show for it's new season, but I'm sure it will not disappoint!

Also, the returning actors are really excited to be a part of this new season as well. That speak volumes for a show, especially when it's a show of unusual characteristics!

Thanks!

Well done now Canada has there very own cross between breaking bad and banshee. without the yo Bi**h. Acting and writing was very good and being set in Nova Scotia rocks. And doing it on a binge watch only 5 hours instead of 4 days.

It says TV series 2017-2019 but the episode guide says 2019

Really fake accents and bad acting, Just too ridiculous to watch. The casting is also really bad as key characters don't fit their roles. I tried because I like the gangster, corruption genre but this is impossible to get into.

Very interesting first season, but several main characters seemed to be killed off.

Reminds me of the last season of Tin Star, this show is a must watch. The acting is outstanding with a story line is fantastic.

Good show but which is a knockoff..Ozark or Pure?.

The storyline is extremely great ! Suspenseful ! highly recommendable, (depending on the type of tv you watch or like ), i hope to get to see more past the 2nd season loved it!

This show is incredible. The character development, the scenery, the world building, the story itself...are all pretty amazing and each have several interesting layers. It is beautifully written and ryan robbins, alex paxton-beesley, and dylan everett are outstanding!! To be honest, it was a pleasant surprise to enjoy this show as much as i did! I noticed a lot of people complaining because it's not completely accurate in its depiction of mennonites...but i'm not sure if their seeing it from the writers point of view...which is that this show is for entertainment purposes only...it's not a documentary. It's "loosely" based off of truth, which means they took a scenario that COULD HAVE happened, between three very real things (mennonite families, the FBI, and the mennonite mob) and put together a story full of twists, turns, betrayal, loyalty, parenthood etc. For an audience to enjoy. The ONLY issue i have with this show is how it abruptly ended without any answers when the show was canceled after season two. I will FOREVER want to know what happened to isaac. But yeah guys, if you just want to watch something short and be thoroughly entertained...while having all the elements of a great drama that keeps you thinking and on the edge of your seat...then you'll love "pure"!!

Really enjoying both series but can anyone tell me about the theme tune?