Fauda Season 1 Review
Movie reviews this week looks at the fascinating Israeli and Palestinian drama Fauda, Arabic for chaos.
This is unique in that it is one of the first series to focus on the Israeli and Palestinian conflict, as seen through the eyes and minds of their families, providing a much needed human angle on the conflict.
It stars our protagonist Doron Kavillio played very warmly by Lior Raz, as a retired father of two, not long retired from a Mossad type agency, aimed at infiltrating potential Hamas operations, and giving much needed intel to thwart terrorist plots.
We meet Doron as he is settling to retired life, tending his vineyard that produces his own wine. Doron is brought back from retirement, for one last try after getting concrete evidence, that an alledge nemesis Abu Smara played by Jameel Khoury (Jack Ryan), long thought dead, is still very much alive, unable to resist the temptation for one last try to catch a terrorist that has eluded him, he ventures back to his old unit.
What follows is a tale of cat and mouse, as Doron tries to track down Abu Smara who is aided by his number two Walid El Abed played very well by Shadi Mar’i and his cousin Dr Shiri El Abed a non-religious doctor played by Laetitia E’ido, who is thrust against her will in the midst of a conflict she neither wants nor is prepared for, while Abu Smara tries to pull off a major terrorst act, that would cause some serious escalation in conflict in the Middle East.
The series is captivating as it sees things through the families of the protagonist and the victims they leave behind. Although this is an Israeli produced series, it tries to be neural in justifying the behaviour of our protagonists, and you end up feeling for them, although the choices they feel compelled to make are gruesome in many cases, the viewer sees the justification from their point of view, and although the choices may nto be agreeable to the audience all the time, it is seen through their lens.
One thing that rings true throughout the series, is the love of family above all else.
This is a Netflix original series, that has not been ventured into before, and the success of this series has already led to a second series with many angles to explore.
Fauda is a fascinating look at the Israeli and Palestinian conflict from those on the ground.
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