BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Spoonixel Amateur movie with Big budget

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

siholdam Never mind the cinematic problem with switching between time periods, instead focus on the problem of offering up an interpretation of history this is stewed in contemporary sensibilities. No wonder hate crimes against Jewish people have increased - this biased portrayal helps to explain why. It was laboured and obvious - though the amazing coincidences made it more Alice in Wonderland than Alice attempting to illustrate how the Israeli's just following orders... the one sided attempt to portray Jews as little better than Nazi's was crude and inaccurate. The other reviews on here suggesting it was "historically accurate" need to take a closer look at history, or try dropping the one sided interpretation. It's a shame the director did not do the same before making this film... oh hang on, it wouldn't have been made if it didn't portray Jews as the victims turned villains. I am no defender of the Zionist position on the occupied territories - it is an illegal occupation - but this series lacked balances and that makes it part of the myth making that fuels hate.

pensman Most Americans are most likely unfamiliar with the creation of Israel after WW II. This series offers some historical perspective to what is usually seen as a single point of view: Jewish refugees trying to establish a homeland after surviving the Nazi death camps (the good); the Arabs (Palestinians) trying to keep them out (the bad); and the British troops trying to maintain a tenuous peace (the ugly). As usual, the real story is various shades of grey. This series is presented somewhat through the eyes of Erin Matthews, a twenty year old who is spending part of her gap year--year between finishing what we think of as high school and starting college--with her friend Eliza who is a British Jew who returns to Israel to begin her national service. Erin discovers before leaving England her grandfather's diary which tells his story as a sergeant in the British army serving in Palestine during the 1940's. The story moves back and forth between the story of her grandfather, Len Matthews, and her experiences in Israel as she reads and tries to follow through on his story as related in the diary. In this telling it is made clear that the Jewish refugees are intent on creating a homeland regardless of the cost in life to the Palestinians or British troops. As a result, Len Matthews who began his service in sympathy with the Jews finds his feelings change as a result of his experiences. And Erin also finds that in the present day the assumptions she has been brought up with are now being challenged by experience. I personally found Len's story quite compelling and in part due to the fine acting of Christian Cooke as Len; and while Erin's story is also arresting, Claire Foy's Erin is a somewhat irritating and an unsympathetic character. Almost obnoxious. However, the large cast does an excellent job and there is no way you can watch one segment of the series and not feel compelled to watch the subsequent episodes. While I find the story well balanced in trying to show the larger picture, I am sure some will be upset to find that the Israelis are not depicted as the completely good guy underdogs of history. But if you want a better understanding of the current unrest in the Middle East then this is both an entreating and illuminating series.

hiskih 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.

Edinman1 I had a personal interest in this for two reasons. My father served with the paras in Palestine (having joined up to fight the Germans) and I've had a long-term interest in what is now known as the 'IP' question. I have to say I was engrossed by the whole series, although there a few dramatic devices which were verging on the unbelievable. It might have worked better as a drama for those who knew absolutely nothing about the situation, in either era. I probably spent too much time worrying about the politics. My sympathies have always lain with the Palestinian side, and there were bits of it I thought were good for setting out a side to Israel that isn't always seen (eg the attitude of the settlers to the indigenous population, which I suspect are an embarrassment to many Israelis). However, although I know where I stand, I wouldn't want to watch anything which contained too much simple propaganda. I think The Promise did achieve a level of balance, sometimes to the detriment of the drama (eg the King David Hotel incident being followed by a suicide bomber). The perception has been is that The Promise was more pro Arab than Israeli, but I can guarantee that no-one with strong views and a knowledge of the history would be particularly satisfied with the politics. For instance, all the main characters were either Brits or Jews, the Arabs were walk-on one dimensional characters. I think it can best be regarded as a drama set in turbulent times, and not as a drama documentary - there is simply too much history to cover to do anything else. I realise it was a dramatic device but poor Len seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time throughout. To put in context, the British had about 100,000 troops in Palestine from 46 to 48, and lost 234 (ish). Not a small figure, but less than you would think from watching The Promise where every other Jew appeared to be a member of the Irgun (which was just one of a number of Jewish organisations). And the 100,000 weren't all Paras... As others have mentioned, why didn't Erin just read the whole diary at once!! Anyway, I elected not to include spoilers so I'll remain silent on various bits which annoyed me along the 'that didn't happen' and 'that couldn't happen' lines. But overall, I did actually enjoy it. Worth watching.