Die Kinder is the show that made me truly appreciate the considerable talent of Frederic Forrest, who plays a jaded private detective (Lomax) hired by a British woman (Miranda Richardson), whose young children are abducted by their German father. Forrest plays this role with amazing range - he is cynical, pragmatic, romantic, protective, devious, heroic. You name it, he does it with this character, and he is completely believable in each nuance that was written into the role. I cannot imagine anyone else playing the part.
All praise for Forrest aside, Milne's script is simply terrific. Lots of plot twists, and each one believable. The characters find themselves caught in an invisible web of bad guys, underground radicals, and betrayed ideals. The final scene left me speechless for several minutes. Interestingly the short novel that was based upon the screenplay presents just one of the many endings that you must develop in your own imagination when you watch the series. This is one story where I DON'T recommend reading the book first.
The down side of all this is that WGBH has no plans to re-broadcast this mini-series, nor do they plan to release it on video. At least that was what they told me the last time I wrote to them. I write every few years with the same request. Perhaps fans of this series should start a letter campaign so they know it's worth releasing for sale. There are several of us out here who have Die Kinder at the top of our all-time favorites list - I cannot imagine there aren't lots more anonymous fans who would love to see it again. My worn out VHS is a precious possession.
