The British period in Palestine is a fascinating topic that I have never before seen treated in films or TV. Unfortunately, Mr. Kosminsky saw fit to include a modern parallel story, set in 2005. The modern story is unbelievable to the point of absurdity, and offers nothing we haven't seen before. Also, it takes too much time from the more interesting 1940s story, leaving the characters too thin for this length.
Politically, the series is anything but neutral. Arabs are presented as noble, innocent victims of Jewish land theft and terror (in both stories) and British bullying. The British are shown as benevolent rulers, if occasionally brutish. The Jews of the 1940s, sympathetic-looking at first, all turn out to be evil Irgun fanatics whose cruelty and heartlessness has no limits. I know the atrocities depicted are historical (although it is impossible for our hero Len to witness all of them, especially Deir Yassin) but why aren't we shown any Arab wrongdoing at all? The modern story does have a couple of nice Jews - those with leftist views and Palestinian friends.
The actors are good, but Len is too soulful for a hardened WWII veteran - he spends the whole of episode 4 almost bursting in tears. In real life, he would have been court-martialed or at least transferred much earlier, after telling his captain that he revealed the information that got two of his mates murdered.
Both the 1940s and 2005 British protagonists end up participating actively in the conflict, on the Arab side of course. This is a spoiler but definitely not a surprise to the viewer.
Politically, the series is anything but neutral. Arabs are presented as noble, innocent victims of Jewish land theft and terror (in both stories) and British bullying. The British are shown as benevolent rulers, if occasionally brutish. The Jews of the 1940s, sympathetic-looking at first, all turn out to be evil Irgun fanatics whose cruelty and heartlessness has no limits. I know the atrocities depicted are historical (although it is impossible for our hero Len to witness all of them, especially Deir Yassin) but why aren't we shown any Arab wrongdoing at all? The modern story does have a couple of nice Jews - those with leftist views and Palestinian friends.
The actors are good, but Len is too soulful for a hardened WWII veteran - he spends the whole of episode 4 almost bursting in tears. In real life, he would have been court-martialed or at least transferred much earlier, after telling his captain that he revealed the information that got two of his mates murdered.
Both the 1940s and 2005 British protagonists end up participating actively in the conflict, on the Arab side of course. This is a spoiler but definitely not a surprise to the viewer.