Hatufim: Prisonniers de guerre

While 'Hatufim' is definitely worth being judged on its own merits, it probably will, for some time, always be compared to the US series that was based on this Israeli original... and after having viewed both series I'm confident in saying that 'Hatufim' doesn't have to shy away from the comparison. In fact, I think it is the superior show of the two.

Whereas 'Homeland' is clearly in the same vein as other US shows and boosts a fast pace, twists and turns and lots of action, 'Hatufim' is much more of a psychological thriller. On the surface much less happens than does in 'Homeland', but 'Hatufim' involves a lot more subtleties as well as realism and character study, especially in its 1st season.

The budget is only a portion of the US remake, but it seldomly shows. Great actors accompany an even better script that left me feeling a lot more involved than the fast pace and action of 'Homeland' did. In fact, Hatufim's 2nd season picks up in pace and action, but still keeps that intimate feeling and heart that 'Homeland' sometimes lacked.

'Homeland' is a very good series, but 'Hatufim' is, in my opinion, a great one.

Genuine, original drama, very mature writing and great performance by talented Israeli actors.

Memorable music and very mindful, slow-paced storytelling, somewhat reminiscent of the best works of Coen brothers.

Cinematography, on the other hand, is a bit amateurish, but in this specific case, it only help to recreate the "documentary" look and feel of the series.

PS: Honestly, I'm mot sure, why so many people compare this show to Homeland. Despite lush "Hollywood" production values, the later looks like a cheap plastic knockoff of the original series, all twists and cliffhangers, no real depth or character study whatsoever. Maybe the problem is the translation (or cultural differences?), I just happen to have lived in both US and Israel, so I could compare both shows as they are. POW is infinitely better, hands down.

This show is sublime. It isn't even worth comparing it to Homeland because there is no comparison. Aside from the fact that PoW was the original of the two, it doesn't focus on the agents, or the families, but instead points the spotlight at the captives and the way they deal with their release, and the subsequent emotional turmoil they have to go through whilst trying to integrate back into Israeli life.

In Homeland it was all about Carrie (the FBI agent) which meant Brody was totally forgotten about.

The English subtitles don't bother me at all, as I truly get lost in the emotion and drama of what is really going on. I'm not going to give anything away. Just watch it. If anything it's incredibly current due to the state of affairs in Gaza at the moment and will take you on a ride you won't forget.

I watched "Prisoners of War" because I had already watched the American TV series, "Homeland", which had taken inspiration from it. The first season lacks of action as it's all focused on the POWs (Prisoners of war) release and their return to family life. Therefore it's more psychological an introspective rather than gripping and suspenseful. However the first season sets the grounds for an amusing second one, where an entangled plot is little by little built up and than unraveled at the end. At a certain stage it's hard to tell who's siding with who and the curiosity of the spectator is more and more stronger. From the beginning to the end I wasn't enthusiastic about the setting, the middle east, probably because it's always associated with tough life and war. I also found surprising the outgoing personality of Israeli people that's depicted in this series.

The Israel series, Hatufim (Prisoners of War), which is all in Hebrew, is on DVD with English subtitles. It is one of the best TV dramas I have ever seen: tense, suspenseful, emotional, with superb acting and directing. Gritty and violent at times, wonderfully slow other times, and always dramatic; we usually wind up watching two episodes in a row. There are characters you like, others you don't, but you care about or are interested in all of them. The US version, Homeland, was taken from this Israeli original and is also excellently well done, but Hatufim is a lot different and stands entirely on its own; I think it's the better of the two. This powerful drama should be on everybody's watch list. A comment about the English subtitles: we found the same thing a reviewer on Amazon did -- the subtitles marked as English on the disc of season 2 (2012) for episodes 9-12 were only in Hebrew. On the advice of the seller, we tried the disc on our computer and (for reasons I cannot understand) the disc played with the English subtitles! The final episodes (13-14), like all the others except for that one disc, play fine on the DVD player.