Tannbach

Very often we think of WWII in terms of the horrors, be it an atomic bomb, or a concentration camp. This series brings us to the continuation of the ''end'', and how, in a sense, continues to this day. It's a village version of the seperation of Berlin. As such, you get much closer to the small village feel, and as a result, to the people. The acting is first rate - no stupid one-liners or unecessary expressions. . Lauterbach is excellent as the distant and guilt-ridden aristocrat/father. Uhl is first rate as a stoic mother with survival instincts that will surprise you. The others are just as fanatastic. I have rarely seen such a touching series that portrays so effectively the two sides of the same and one coin. A sad and touching testimony of a moment in history of a great and proud nation, and a very human one at that.

I was curious to know what really happened in the Second World War after the defeat of the Nazis in Germany. It shows step by step the construction of the new Eastern Germany DDR with the socialism values that I won't give away further here. Very good educational material with wonderful actors. They played their roles so well that I could feel with them how hard it was to live in the new zone without any democratic hopes. For every one who wants to understand how the processes in the DDR worked this is a great opportunity. It was never boring with lot of twists. Excellent direction with authentic sceneries and costumes. Check it out. 9/10.

This seemingly low budget TV series would appear to the German version of "A French Village". Both take place after the end of WW2, and both depict the lives of people and places impacted by the downfall of Germany. The main difference between the two series is that the German version is just 3 episodes long (thankfully) while the French version went on forever, dragged out until viewers could no longer remember (or care) who the characters were or what they did during the war. The acting in the German series is pretty terrible, and because so much had to be included in the short time, the editing is very choppy, leading to a storyline that is difficult to follow. Events occur without adequate explanation, which leaves viewers scratching their heads due to a lack of continuity and character development. Most of the characters are stereotyped, with dialog that is pretty mundane and scripted. There is the usual fight between capitalism and communism, and that pretty much sums up the series. It's a forgettable series that one might not include on a list of films to watch....unless there's absolutely nothing else to do!

Odd, I watched S1/ep1, 2, 3 and S2/ep 1, 2, 3. The final episode seemed to be unfinished, as though there needed to be further episodes, so as to tell the complete story.

The first series was shown in the UK back in 2017 and I really enjoyed it both for the history and the personal tragedies that unfold. The interesting stories are with the conflicts between the characters and their changing fortunes and their priorities with the sides they choose to take as their village is divided.

There is some lighthearted moments but mostly this is a tale of the harsh reality of a nation that lost its' way and power and how the people have to come to terms with this and their villages' division under the super powers.

I was excited to learn of a second series but it was unavailable in the UK so I went to the extreme of buying a subtitled DVD version from New Zealand. It was well worth it. The second series does feel unfinished and it could do with a third, however, I expect there is not much more you could do but tackle the eventual reunification and that has been told in other German series in recent years like the excellent Deutschland 83/86/89.