Review by bearealman

Other reviewers have already made key points about the series's high quality of acting, writing and cinematography. And many reviewers are impressed by the messaging or meaning of this work: it focuses on how difficult and risky defying fascism and totalitarianism is. It leads one to experience how essential it is that we do so NOW, even if what small differences one makes seem insignificant. The series shows that one can hope for better outcomes than what actually happens, but even if those expectations aren't met, retaining, recording and disseminating, publishing and publicizing memories of historical facts is a strong weapon against future fascist totalitarian crimes and abuses.

My only criticism worth mentioning is that the actors portraying these characters are more beautiful or more attractive by conventional standards than the historical persons were. I found myself reminding myself as I watched the series that I mustn't conflate the physical beauty or good health displayed with the beauty, value and worth of a person no matter their appearance. Just one example: I have admired the actor Liev Schreiber for decades, but he appears in the final episodes only looking somewhat older, as if he had not been through the extreme ordeal his character went through. While I don't expect or demand actors go to extremes to physically portray physical harm such as deprivation, I believe the series' creators relied on faith in their audience's intelligence and best judgement to compensate for the unrealistic consistent good looks of the cast. The end credits' inclusion of photos of the actual people portrayed confirms that these are fine actors telling a necessary story, but are not doppelgängers for the original people.

That may seem like a small point to make with as much attention to detail as I have. But I believe it makes a big difference in how this story impacts its audience, and had to be written about.