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Fauda (2015)

2015 · Action,Crime,Drama · spy-contemporary, political-drama, contemporary-realistic

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Fauda is a relentlessly intense Israeli action-drama following an undercover Shin Bet unit operating in the West Bank and Gaza, told with genuine sympathy for combatants on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Its signature quality is the refusal to reduce either Israelis or Palestinians to heroes or villains — reviewers across political positions describe being moved, unsettled, and forced to reckon with their own assumptions. The show is culturally immersive, linguistically authentic (authentic Arabic is repeatedly praised), and operationally procedural, but its emotional weight comes from the cyclical logic of violence and grief that consumes every character. It is closer to a war tragedy than a thriller, despite its action-heavy surface.

From the reviewers

The writers do a masterful job of convincing you to sympathize with even the most unwavering of Hamas supporters and warriors and with the Israelis tasked with hunting them down.
There is no Hollywood romance sideplots, no flashy explosions or high speed car chases through oncoming traffic, only death and despair.
From the outset the series also demonstrates the vicious cycle that is the struggle in the Middle East, as violence just begets violence. One side will kill someone from the other side, and the other side will avenge them, perpetuating the cycle.
There's also a great sense of pointlessness to it all. The Israeli team is tasked with tracking down and killing high profile terrorists/ operatives. When they accomplish this there is a sense of achievement but they know it will be short-lived as someone will just replace that person and the whole thing starts again, never to end.
Fauda is violent and action-packed, but all the characters, on both sides, have depth and believability.

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