LMGI COMPASS
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Summer 2023
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THE HANDMAID'S TALE
Season 5 – Hulu/MGM Studios
The bleakness of a near-future dystopian world
continues to permeate every frame of this
fifth-season drama. Toronto and its environs
convincingly play for the US cities of Gilead from
which the handmaids escape, and Toronto is shown
in its contemporary form as a place of refuge.
The architectural choices reflect the normal vs.
dystopian; "frightening vs non-frightening" is the
series' mantra. For the Commander's funeral,
an impressive procession marches for blocks on
a wide boulevard flanked by stately buildings,
choreographed to broadcast Gilead's legitimacy
to the world. The Crystal Beach community on
the shores of Lake Erie is designed as a tourist
attraction to camouflage the actual brutality of the
state.
THE OLD MAN
FX Networks
In this pulse-pounding action thriller, a former CIA
operative has been living peacefully off-the-grid in
Vermont—until his tranquil existence is shattered
by a relentless assassin. An epic adventure is
launched across Afghanistan, Morocco and the
United States which are all found in the hidden
treasures of California's Idyllwild, Lone Pine,
Bishop and Sierra Mountains. A multi-million-
dollar Moroccan estate in Monrovia hosts a
lavish cocktail party. Downtown LA's historic
banking district sets the stage for gripping 30-
year flashbacks and Dorothy Chandler's Plaza
transforms into a Moroccan café.
THE LAST OF US
HBO I Max
In a harrowing post-apocalyptic world, a
hardened survivor and a 14-year-old girl embark
across a ravaged United States to help find a
cure for a devastating fungus. In vast areas of
Canada, from Alberta to Calgary, Edmonton
and surrounding suburbs, locations transform
versions of Boston, Kansas City, Jackson and
Salt Lake City into overgrown wastelands. In this
meticulously crafted world depicting bombed-out
cities and areas devastated by efforts to control
the infected population, characters interact in
a practical reality instead of relying on virtual
backdrops.
The Handmaid's Tale
The Old Man
The Last of Us
