Un monde en feu

This is for people who want to know about confusion and pain, not the shoot them up pastiche of war that is typical. It's sibjective approach means it has nine of the grand narative, but that's exactly right for the humane film it is

Really amazed at amount of critical reviewers who base their criticism of a drama on history. This is a fictional account of some personal experiences of WWII not a documentary. Using your criteria, then all drama must be reviewed in terms of history and condemned if not absolutely accurate. Also, amazed that some reviewers are concerned about the bad depiction of Nazis and the display of blatant homophobic remarks as well as using the typical PC attack. I do see homophobic remarks in many reviews of any movie/series that has major gay roles. Looks like lots of right-wing and possibly Nazi nuts reviewing this but I guess that is to be expected when WWII related presentations are involved. But even with all this negativity, it has a decent rating because this series is well presented and acted. Great dramatic presentation of personal experiences and the challenges and heartache they faced in a horrific crisis.

Nice to see the polish side of the story and how horrifying it all was. Glad the bbc used well known polish actors rather than British actors with accents. Lends an authenticity to proceedings. Well acted throughout and great to see heavyweights like Helen hunt and Sean bean and Lesley Manville in tv

This well intentioned series surprises in some ways. After seeming cliched at first the characters surprise with some unexpectedly interesting stories that cover unfamiliar WW2 movie ground. The Polish point of view at the beginning of the war is interesting. The triangle between the pretty Manchester singer, the feisty Polish resistance fighter and the soldier translator caught in between is quite amusing. The best story is the initially nasty Mother of the guy and how she comes round to the working class Sean Bean and the Polish refugee boy. Some characters seem like forced inclusion for diversity. Like Helen Hunt's reporter concerns over euthanasia programmes and the gay doctor and his lover. Some "modern" themes of shell shock and doubt are portrayed here. No comic book super heroes here.

It takes some concentration to get used to the different characters but once you get them sorted out it's quite good.

Of the cast Leslie Manville stands out. The Polish actress who plays the resistance fighter is convincing and authentic. Jonah Hauer King looks like he comes straight from a WW2 poster. The cast is fine but the directing could be more clear. Another fault is the Manchester accents of some of the cast are too thick to understand.

Surprisingly well made and engrossing.

World On Fire has its strengths and weaknesses. That's true of any show, but it's more difficult to overlook the (numerous and glaring) weaknesses if you have knowledge about World War II and the legitimate history.

The positive is that there is a large focus on Poland, something which is so frequently overlooked when in comes to WW II history in Britain and America. The writers have some big plot holes, from the story of the young refugee - somehow his rescuer is able to keep it a secret & say next to nothing to anyone. Frankly, he does that throughout the series to the point that it gets stupid.

I do like the idea of the way they're using characters in different countries and then tying them together as the series goes on. The biggest drawback is that you get the idea that writers have forgotten about or have too many characters of whom to keep track and in turn, parts where they come together can feel forced and there isn't the character development one would hope to see.

The biggest flaw in this series is the way the writers appear to re-write large parts of history to make it more palatable for the Gen Z crowd. Unlike true period dramas like SAS Rogue Heroes and Call The Midwife, World On Fire is lost between its desire to engage in a show about the war and a desire to combine it with a heavier dose of views you'd see in 2019 rather than 1939. Rather than staying true to the time, the writers stray and in turn, parts veer in to melodrama. They produce big, explosive war scenes, but only some of them feel appropriate. A storyline with a German child takes a turn that doesn't feel at all in character for what we've seen thus far.

The women, save for the main character's mother, are straight out of this decade & it can be almost distracting. You also very much get the idea that they're trying to hit a diversity quota without actually tackling the biggest population that was destroyed at the hands of the Nazis: Jewish people.

On one hand, it's yes, it's fiction, however, the number of Polish and French Jews who lost their lives are almost a side note. They show them, but most don't have any real story focused on them. For such a major historic event that nearly wiped out a population, it's almost a crime not to have a strong main character that is Jewish.

In a bizarre way, World On Fire is what I can imagine the outcome should someone who loved Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries come up with if they chose to make a current period drama about World War II. This show isn't terrible, but the lack of accuracy when it's trying to be so serious can make for an unsettling watch.

If you have little or no knowledge of history, you'll probably enjoy World On Fire. If you were born in 1999 or later, this was probably written for you. On the whole I recommend it so long as you understand & don't mind the above caveats.