Gefangen im Paradies

Companion-piece almost to THE ALIEN YEARS, made the same year and released only weeks before.

Tushka Bergen is Frieda Kennon, a country girl who in 1916 at the height of WW1, falls in love with German national (now a prisoner in NSW) Franz Muller. Like Victoria Longley as Elizabeth Parsons in THE ALIEN YEARS, she could hardly expect true love to run smooth, at least not side by side with neighborhood dissent and racial disapproval caused by her choice of lover.

This little known (and little shown) production was well-made with obvious care to detail. Jochen Horst is believable as the German in a no-win situation and the piece well worth seeing. Whether or not it is available on video now is a moot point!

When Australia went into the First World War, it was a small nation of around 3 million people. Conscription came in and most of the young men were sent to their death. This mini series shows a very emotion approach to what could have been just another tv show. The acting is generally excellent, people were so confused back then, the death of many of their friends and many other thousands wounded.

This miniseries is currently available to view on Amazon Prime and is well worth watching the 4 episodes. Even though it gets a little slow in parts, albeit those were the times. I thought the sex scene at the end of episode 2 was handled extremely well for tv in 1988.

This series touched the hearts of many Australians when it was released to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the founding of modern Australia. Most people outside Australia do not understand the significance of the Great War to Australians: population 3m; dead 180,000; wounded 250,000; 30% of the men and women who left these shores never returned; and Australians per head of population took more casualties than any other nation but the Irish. The Anzacs also had a reputation for being fierce, and very effective fighters, but also fiercely independent to the point of insubordination (at least in British eyes) How pleasant and surprising to see a modern story told about this, which respected this history, but also updated it in terms of modern Australia's multi-culturalism, with a civilized and very,very sad love story. The criticisms on here of the characterisations misunderstand the character of the times. Australian society then, unlike now, was largely an anglo-celtic one, and a rather stern version of it at that. It is not altogether surprising that this is reflected in the characters, particularly the parents. I enjoyed the series, and would heartily recommend it to those who wish to understand an outback society being put through unbelievable trauma