FORTUNES OF WAR

 I think it was our Dacia Tour driver in Bucharest who mentioned the 1987 BBC TV series Fortunes of War based on the novels of Olivia Manning. Its one of those rare series that captures a piece of history in an almost unknown  country at a time where the focus was on other parts of Europe - in this case, the story starts in Romania during the early years of World War Two.

It's an 8-part series set not only in Romania but also Greece and Egypt and it's almost worth watching for the architecture and historic buildings alone. From what I could find online, it was one of the most expensive TV series of its time, costing the BBC 7 million pounds. The number of extras alone must have cost of fortune, let alone clearing historic sites, such as the Parthenon and the Pyramids, of tourists so scenes with one or two lead actors could be filmed.

It's fascinating to watch a series that is nearly forty years old. It has a leisurely pace for all that it's set in a time of war. It stars Emma Thompsom and Kenneth Brannagh before they became a couple. Many of the characters are richly developed but some are rough caricatures. It's a story about love in the time of war and the importance of culture in the time of war. Fascinating.



Having just watched Emma Thompson in Down Cemetery Road, it was interesting to read this piece reflecting her work then and now.

PS: If you want to borrow my DVD set, just ask.

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