Mama's Angel

The first two reviews perfectly summed up the exasperation with this series I felt at the end. Plot took too long to develop, posed intriguing possibilities, then left them all hanging in the air. The only standout performance was the mentally handicapped man/child - none of the other actors rated. Leaving an audience feeling cheated is bad form to say the least.

Maybe this is not a classic detective story, but this is a great drama. It is like life: not all story and character lines are bound to be just fuel for some "who done it" closure, they are valuable as they are. And this sudden final "disappointment" amplifies this feeling greatly.

A reasonably intense and authentic offering, that avoids the overly-dramatic thrills and spills that swamp our TV murder mysteries. Rather, it seeks to paint a picture of a people's culture, how they react to each other, and how the wider society treats them.

Expect less focus on police procedures and instead, witness a community's emotional response to the worst kind of tragedy. The outrage too, that is felt when the more marginalized members of Israeli society are faced with systemic injustices.

Thoughtfully conceived and generally well executed, although the story's ending perhaps drags on a little too long. (7.4/10)

This ten part Israeli series is centred on the search for the killer of seven year old Kfir Tamir whose body is found near a monument to air force heroes on a hill overlooking the Tel Aviv suburb where he lived. Suspicion quickly falls on an Ethiopian boy who had recently vandalised the monument; he is arrested and the senior police officer is convinced he has the right man. The Scene of Crime Officer is less than convinced; especially when a second body, that of a young woman, turns up.

Over the course of the series we see how the crime effects Kfir's family, the wider community and those close to the accused. While the police continue to focus on one suspect the viewers is given other characters to consider.

Since this series is centred on the murder of a child it won't be for everybody; while there are obviously disturbing moments I enjoyed it. The central mystery is interesting and keeps the viewer guessing. Social issues as a major part of the story concerns how the Ethiopian community is viewed by others in the area and one possible suspect, Amnon, has clear mental issues. There are some weak points; I can't believe the initial search of the crime scene could be so mishandled even with the chief SOCO away at the time and the senior police officer was far too fixated on one suspect. Despite these quibbles the story kept me gripped from start to finish. The cast did a solid job; most notably Tom Hagi who played Amnon and Vered Feldman as Na'ama Saddeh the SOCO. The ending will definitely frustrate many viewers; it didn't bother me but that might just be because I'd already read that others were disappointed but not why. Overall I'd still recommend this for fans of the genre.

These comments are based on watching the series in Hebrew with English subtitles.

I sat through ten episodes of this over three nights as it built up to the worst anticlimax I have ever seen on film! I cannot help but wonder if the show's creators simply ran out of time or money or care- factor to have arrived at such an abysmal whimper of a finale. If they were aiming to leave things 'open' for a second season, I cannot imagine anyone would even care enough after such an insult, as to what happens in a future scenario involving these characters.

And are Israeli men really all such failed human beings? There was not one male character presented in this production that I could care about. Even the most vulnerable character, though portrayed so brilliantly by the actor, just became a really annoying presence.

And actually, the women were awfully contrived 'tragic figures' too.

And please...no mother of a murdered child is going to go to visit an imprisoned suspect in that murder, to give him a sympathetic ear let alone be allowed to professionally counsel said suspect.

Finally, you find yourself often thrust into scenes that make little sense, wondering what you're doing there and how this event/character development, or interaction adds anything to the overall story or plot development. And most of the time, these pointless twists and turns are awkward and out of context and actually turn out to be of no value whatsoever.

Bah. Whatever. Could have been great. Turned out to be waste of time.