La guerra è finita

The Italian miniseries La Guerra e Finiti (The War is Over) is one of the finest Holocaust dramas I have ever seen. You'll laugh and you'll cry. It's subtitled, so you'll have to watch closely so you don't miss any of the dialog. All of the adult actors give great performances. The children, though, really steal the show. I hope it is eventually released on DVD. I'll buy one to keep and a few more to give away as gifts. It's really that good!

In the remains of post-war Italy, some Holocaust child survivors return to find their former lives gone. Davide Pavia is a freedom fighter trying to locate his family taken by the authorities. Giulia is trying to help the children to redeem her father's involvement in the war. Ben insists on taking the children to Palestine. These three and others take over a school to build a temporary sanctuary in which the real world place hosted over eight hundred children.

This is a compelling limited series based on a real historical story. The fictionalization does go overboard at times. There is a bit of convenient story connections. While Davide's search is compelling, it's better to leave it unresolved as I imagine a lot of search ended. The acting is superb. The children are very good and the 'teens' are excellent. This is a very compelling watch.

I watched this drama on Mhz Choice streaming. (The Mhz Choice company released a DVD set but the picture quality is poor.) It's a beautiful story based on fact, but unfortunately the book is difficult to find here.

The story is best when focused on the children, who are Jews coming out of the concentration camps at the end of WWII. Many have lost their entire families, while others are hoping to be reunited with what is left of theirs. It clear what the children endured in the camps, but there is very little graphic imagery onscreen. Much is conveyed through the children's verbal descriptions and the reactions from the volunteers listening.

The performances are uniformly excellent, and the child playing little Giovanni stole my heart.

If this series has a flaw, it's perhaps that too much time is spent on trying to remain at the agricultural estate (which the volunteers have commandeered) and their legal issues with the landowner. I would have preferred more time with the children.

It should be noted that the series was broadcast in Italy in 4 installments but the US version has 8 episodes. In Italy, it's fairly common for 2 episodes to be broadcast together.