As Episode 1 of "We Were the Lucky Ones" (2024 release; 8 episodes of about 55 min each) opens, we are reminded that this is "Based on a True Story". We go to Radom, Poland, 1938" and we are introduced to a Jewish family. Halina meets her brother ar the train station. He is a musician living in Paris, but is coming home to celebrate Passover, as he does every year. Meanwhile Nazi Germany is "absorbing" Austria and it becomes clear that it will not stop there. At this point we are 10 minutes into Episode 1.
Couple of comments: this is the movie adaptation of Georgia Hunter's book of the same name. At the beginning of the movie, we are reminded that 90% of the 3 million Jews in Poland perished in the Holocaust, and that this min-series is going to remind us how all that could happen by following the fate of one large Jewish family. There have been many movies about the horror that was the Holocaust, and that we should never forget this, and rightly so. Alas, I regret to inform that this does not therefor make this a good series. In fact, I will just outright say it: this mini-series lacks quality, none more so than in the wooden performances of the cast in general. They are trying too hard, it feels. You can practically hear the director announce "and... ACTION!" on the set. I gave it 3 episodes, and then dropped out.
"We Were the Lucky Ones" started airing some weeks ago on Hulu, and is reaching its conclusion in early May. I was astonished to see that this is currently rated 95% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Did I see the same series? If you are in the mood for another assessment of what happened to Jews in the Holocaust, I'd suggest you check this out, expectations firmly in check, and draw your own conclusion.
Couple of comments: this is the movie adaptation of Georgia Hunter's book of the same name. At the beginning of the movie, we are reminded that 90% of the 3 million Jews in Poland perished in the Holocaust, and that this min-series is going to remind us how all that could happen by following the fate of one large Jewish family. There have been many movies about the horror that was the Holocaust, and that we should never forget this, and rightly so. Alas, I regret to inform that this does not therefor make this a good series. In fact, I will just outright say it: this mini-series lacks quality, none more so than in the wooden performances of the cast in general. They are trying too hard, it feels. You can practically hear the director announce "and... ACTION!" on the set. I gave it 3 episodes, and then dropped out.
"We Were the Lucky Ones" started airing some weeks ago on Hulu, and is reaching its conclusion in early May. I was astonished to see that this is currently rated 95% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Did I see the same series? If you are in the mood for another assessment of what happened to Jews in the Holocaust, I'd suggest you check this out, expectations firmly in check, and draw your own conclusion.