Bortfort

This show is decent in terms of plot and acting, but it's basically B-Grade. A young Norwegian girl visiting Israel is captured by Isis along with her friends, an Israeli brother and sister. Her mother, who comes to find her, enlists the help of an unlikely ally, and dot dot dot....

There are some strong players in this show, along with good scenery and production, but it's very formulaic and the characters fall flat in large part because of the choice to make all the main players converse in English. It makes sense, since the Norwegian mother is fluent in the language and even participated in the Oslo talks, as did the main Israeli touch-point. The daughter who is kidnapped is fluent too. As is, apparently, the head of of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza. And a Palestinian doctor she befriended at the time.

But it doesn't work. Because the actors are not fluent, and that's fine, and should have stayed that way.

After a few episodes of this, I felt like I was was watching the SNL "Norwegian Playhouse" sketch. The mother tells someone her plan will pay off "Big Time." He replies "Don't Mess With Me" (OK I made up the second part, but it's basically apt). It ends up sounding ridiculous. The scenes with subtitles work much better, especially those that feature the hostages and their captors, all of which are sufficiently tense.

Anyway, this is a weird mash-up of Scandinoir and "Fauda." It's OK, but not great.

There is a lot that is wrong with this series. The characters annoyed me. Especially the kidnapped daughter Pia and her pain in the butt mother. Maybe do yourself a favor and watch episodes 1 & 2 then reward time is due, skip to the last one episode 10.

Pia is a young Norwegian girl who hasn't told her parents that she has gone to Israel on holiday. While there she goes on a day trip to a beach in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula with an Israeli brother and sister. As they return through the desert their car is stopped by armed ISIS terrorists; their driver is killed and they are taken hostage. The terrorists demand the release of several prisoners; most are in Israeli jails but one is being held in Norway. Neither country wants to give in to terrorists but Pia's father, a lawyer, agrees to represent the man being held in Norway. Meanwhile her mother, is in Israel trying to pressure anybody who might be able to help to do what they can. Most prominent of these is the Israeli Intelligence Minister who she had got close to when he attended the Oslo peace talks in the early nineties some of her actions may make things worse.

I thought this was a fairly solid thriller; the tension is high whenever we are with Pia and her fellow hostages. Things aren't quite as strong when we are with her parents, in particular her mother whose actions don't seem like those of somebody who worked as a diplomat... everything she does seems to potentially make matters worse or harm other people. The acting is decent enough; annoying characters are more down to writing than acting. I did like the settings; especially the bleak deserts where much of the drama takes place. Overall a decent enough series; not a must see but good enough.

These comments are based on watching the series in Hebrew/Norwegian/Arabic with English subtitles; much of the conversation is in English as it is the language used by characters who don't speak other's native languages.

I don't get the negative reviews here, but maybe I'm just not that familiar with the middle east and how things are over there. Regardless, if you like suspense, this one had me biting my nails. I'm glad it's several episodes, because it gives me something to look forward to in the evenings. There are disturbing scenes and frustrating ones, but I didn't find anything wrong with the acting. I am a very picky viewer and won't even tune into anything if it's not well done, so I honestly don't understand why others didn't appreciate it. Norwegian programs are usually far better than silly American stuff. Try Witch Hunt (with subtitles, of course) for another absorbing Norwegian program, although I did like this one better. Happy viewing!

Yes. The mother drove me bezerk watching this. If you were a top politician/negotiater before, how come you get braindead 20 years after?

The girl. Everytime something happens she screams like a hurt pig. If something happens, you concentrate to get your ass outta there and quiet. Dont think the writer/author likes women.

When it comes to the story it is a bit simple. Israelis have made really excellent series before, but this was not a great moment. If you want to watch somethin while you wait for your pizza its ok.