When We Go to War

2015
6.8| 0h30m| en
Synopsis

A historical saga, it tells the story of six young men and women who, in 1914, are full of plans and dreams for the future. Cutting between life at home, Gallipoli and Egypt, this spectacular drama begins in a time of optimism and hope, on the eve of war.

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

Stream on any device, 30-day free trial Watch Now

Trailers & Clips

Also starring Esther Stephens

Also starring Shavaughn Ruakere

Also starring Ido Drent

Reviews

Pluskylang Great Film overall
Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.
Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.
Delight Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.
emmam-37014 I found this by chance but I really enjoined it, in particular how each character showed a different side of the stigmas & hurdles they faced back then. Also how each generation experience the war difficulty. Being from the UK I was ignorant of how New Zealand contributed to the war. I was gutted to see there are no more seasons planned for this. A recommended watch.
mdianedube I love this series; I think it's authentically done, down to characters, costumes and locations. Characters grow and you feel involved. Call me an old-fashioned person, but this is tugging at my heartstrings. A significant number of "kids" brainwashed into defending the Commonwealth on foreign soil. I would love to go Turkey to see battlegrounds to give a silent prayer. War is hell but many profit by it; it's the ordinary "Joes" who pay the price. To paraphrase, what's it good for? (war)
gavintina I happened upon the first episode of 'When we go to war" last weekend on Ten's One channel, and found it refreshing to see a WWI perspective based in New Zealand. It has got sexual reference in this episode but it does not offend, as lets face it - it did happen and is used to highlight the male dominated environment of the time, when women were 'responsible' for the ruination of reputations of not only themselves but others like their lovers, to even extended family members. Mari issues were also raised in this episode which is important to address, and the male character aced it!I found some of my coffee club friends also viewed it and really enjoyed this historical drama as much as myself and are keen to watch all 6 episodes played on Ten's One. When looking at views per episode on Wikipedia most viewers liked what they saw and stayed for all 6 episodes. I recommend this series as one to try, I'm sure it will appeal!
hcavn I don't have a TV anymore, but stumbled upon the back to back premiere of the first two episodes, when I went around to a friends house for a birthday party. He said there was a programme showing later that night about WW1, so all the boys there sat down to enjoy when it screened (no John Wayne for us this night).Now context is very important here. The series is about New Zealand's entry into WWI. The episodes screened in the middle of a long weekend here, sandwiched on a Sunday (26 April) between the actual date (25 April) of our national war memorial day (ANZAC Day) and the (for the first time) statutory observed national holiday (27 April). And, this was the 100th anniversary of the Battle Of Gallipoli. Pretty high national feeling all over the country that weekend for those that had given their lives for us all. So the expectation was the show had potential (and from what I was told, it was three years in the making).Now, I'm not an easily offended guy, but I was cringing twice in the first 10 minutes, and desperately feeling sorry for the average viewer. Within the 5 minutes we had a male tutor in medical school having sexual intercourse with his female student. Five minutes later, another guy is having his way with a prostitute in a brothel. Pretty insensitive start if you ask me, even if was (and I don't know if it was) based on fact. And it never got any better from there.To rub salt into the wounds, NZ$6.1 million of the nations tax dollars went to funding it. Needless to say, I never watched any episodes after the first two. I've been generous and given a score of 2, even though the first episode was a 1 (as I can't score it a negative).Anything good? Well, it had the stunning Shavaughn Ruakere in it, but even she was not enough to get me back for more.