We Were the Lucky Ones

This mini series is based off a book and is the true story of Jewish adult siblings, their parents and spouses, and the variety of real paths their lives take as WWII unfolds. The book is written by a member of the family. Many siblings go paths I knew nothing about or aren't commonly talked about. Once books turn to film, they often disappoint, but not this one. It's engaging, inspiring, and unimaginable. I am excited for future episodes. My husband, who has not read the book, is equally engaged. The acting and story line are top notch. We must never forget these are really people who went through these atrocities.

This story will make your heart hurt and you will feel like you know this family. As many times as I have read or seen WW11 stories, it still blows my mind all of this happened to human beings. This show makes you connect to each character. One story line that is beautifully and heartbreakingly done is the mother/daughter story. Parts of the episodes are difficult to watch but you need to because it happened and this show does a good job of showing the horror of early wartime in Poland. I am not done with the series yet but look forward to each episode. If this is your history genre, watch and read the book.

Four episodes in, and every one is a consistent 8/10. Not great art, a little hokey, but the compulsive gotta-see-what-happens-next factor is very strong with this one.

The cast is mostly unknowns and surprisingly strong. I particularly like Moran Rosenblatt as Herta, the kind of tough cookie who can survive anything.

Logan Lerman as the Parisian sophisticate Addy is also very good. He looks like someone who could have been an actor in the 1940s. Reminds me of Tyrone Power in his glory days, has a lot of the same angsty energy.

I always like seeing attention to detail in historical stories to avoid anachronisms. Seeing someone in the streets of Paris wearing a WWI era gas mask wouldn't have been surprising. They would think the last war would pose the same dangers as the coming one.

When Addy plays "Puttin' on the Ritz," the lyrics are from the original version, about Harlem. A sloppier show would have used the more well known lyrics that were written for a post-war Astaire film. Nice job on research there.

It's a good thing Hulu is doling this out weekly. Otherwise I'd just binge watch the whole thing in one weekend.

I don't understand any of the negative reviews!

Only four episodes so far...but I am extremely captivated by this show. Some characters are a bit more likeable or more interesting than others, but I think the character development is solid so far.

The storylines so far are interesting and definitely keeping me wanting to keep watching. I appreciate each family member's unique storyline and seeing where everyone ends up.

Someone commented that the accents are fake, but I disagree. I think the actors are phenomenal and it seems most of them are actually Jewish which gives this show some extra authenticity points.

I think this show has great momentum and I'm very upset I can't watch the remaining 4! I want to binge the rest of this. Please give this a chance and don't listen to the low reviews!

The only negative I can say is that in the first episode it's a bit tricky to figure out who all the characters are. I simply rewatched the 1st episode again.

Otherwise this is an excellent series. I agree with other user comments...if you think the events in the film are overblown or overly dramatic, read up on your history. To the contrary, even the most wrenching scenes were depicted in a measured manner, especially considering the reality of that time and place.

For those of us who are history buffs and think we've seen it all when it comes to WWII films, this film offers a unique perspective of one family's plight, and the plot takes curious twists and turns that are both surprising and gripping.