There has been no shortage of TV series centered around the horrors of the Holocaust. Just last year, Netflix's 'Transatlantic' depicted the resistance group living in Marseille, and National Geographic's 'A Little Light' chronicled Anne Frank's experiences through the eyes of Miep Gies, the woman who helped the Franks while they were in hiding. We talked about it again. . This and similar series are all important, but Hulu's “We Were the Lucky Ones,” adapted from Georgia Hunter's best-selling novel based on a true story, offers something different. The show chronicles a family torn apart by war and hatred. Subversive and deeply moving, “We Were the Lucky Ones” reveals the scope of World War II, the inhumanity of others, and the bitterness of disconnection and loss.
The series premiere, titled “Random,” takes place in a crowded Red Cross office in Poland in 1945. With her face pale and exhausted, Halina Kurk (The Amazing Joey King) receives the news that takes her breath away. Traveling back in time to 1938, we see the Kurc brothers gathering at the home of his parents, Sol (Lior Ashkenazi) and Nechuma (Robin Weigert), for Passover. Her youngest child, Halina, sporting her bold red lip and annoying naivety, picks up her older brother, Addie (Logan Lerman), from the train station. Although the two are a few years apart in age, they feel a kinship because they share a birthday and a love of wanderlust. All their brothers and sisters gathered around their parents' table. The eldest daughter Mila (Hadas Yaron) is pregnant with her first child. Photographer Jakob (Amit Rahav) falls in love for the first time, and the stoic eldest brother, Genek (Henry Lloyd Hughes), is not frightened by news from Germany. Ultimately, this holiday marks the end of an era for the Kurchi people.
Anyone who studies history knows the basic outline of World War II. But creator Erica Lipez follows the Kurzs over nearly a decade, showing the constant chaos and barbarism that Jews faced during this period. The wide scope of the series also demonstrates how widespread Hitler's ideology was and how easily it was adapted by others. Spanning eight episodes and named after the place where the Kurk family settled after being driven from their home in Poland, “We Were the Lucky Ones” tells the story of a brother and sister and their spouses fighting to exist in impossible times. . I'm holding on tight to the hope that they can reunite.
By using the date and setting as indicators of the war and the Kurchi people's experience, the audience is fully immersed in the pain and uncertainty of this world. Lipez shows how quickly lives are extinguished when others are reluctant to stand up to fascism. From describing the bitter cold of Siberia to horrific acts of violence against Kurds and other Jews; <우리는 행운아들>accurately and accurately depicts the anguish and horror inflicted on a daily basis. But the most moving aspect of the series is that it details situations not often seen in movies or TV shows about the Holocaust.
Addie lives in Paris during the war, and her isolation and silence from her loved ones haunts her for years. Similarly, for Genek, his anger causes him to struggle with his Jewish faith and belief in God, despite finding solace in the arms of his wife Herta (Moran Rosenblatt). Sol and Nechuma, who run the best fabric store in Random, Poland, are forced to rely on their children for survival, and as the war continues, the children are wracked with guilt. Jakob is determined to survive even when his wife Bella (Eva Feiler) cannot imagine a future for her. Overwhelmed by her duties as a mother, Mila risks everything to keep her daughter alive. Finally, despite being constantly underestimated by Halina, she desperately wants to be part of her resistance. Spending extended time with each member of the Kurcs allows viewers to enter their psyche, absorbing a variety of perspectives and opinions instead of a monolithic overview of Holocaust survivors.
Intense and often deeply upsetting, “We Were the Lucky Ones” is not an easy watch. By the end of the Holocaust, 90% of Polish Jews had been massacred. The series shows how it's nearly impossible to find joy in crazy situations, especially when others are content to ignore the atrocities right in front of them. Sure, there are lighter moments in the show's narrative, but scenes involving marriage, childbirth, and egg whites being used as fake foreskins don't exactly work as moments of levity. Instead, it provides a small nugget of hope to keep audiences watching the show. “We Were the Lucky Ones” is about what it means to resist, live, and sacrifice. In the end, stories of survival can be just as important as remembering those lost forever.
The first three episodes of “We Were the Lucky Ones” premiere on Hulu on March 28, with new episodes released every Thursday.