I wanted to learn and feel new things about the Rwandan Genocide, and definitely did. But, despite some excellent acting and intelligent writing, I just couldn't follow all the dots in this detailed drama that wraps a human story that's too difficult to follow to do justice to the horror of what happened in 1994.
In the first episode, a wonderful and compelling argument is drawn along the lines of whether Africans should create their own solutions for their problems, or whether white Europe has a role. This theme was abandoned as quickly as the subplot of a Canadian officer who believes he's identified a genocide criminal in a local hospital. The rest of the series feels like it's trying to engage with a drama while it also explores the complexities of the events that led up to the genocide and their subsequent historical interpretation. Twists and turns proliferate, but I struggled to keep up.
Relative newcomer Micheala Coen is stellar as Kate Ashby, a struggling Rwandan who was adopted by an English prosecutor after her parents were killed by Hutus. John Goodman is a solid set piece, but does not sizzle like Coen.
And what's with ALL THE VOMITING. It's as if the writers insisted on one graphic vomiting scene of a varying color per episode. I'm not even joking.
In the first episode, a wonderful and compelling argument is drawn along the lines of whether Africans should create their own solutions for their problems, or whether white Europe has a role. This theme was abandoned as quickly as the subplot of a Canadian officer who believes he's identified a genocide criminal in a local hospital. The rest of the series feels like it's trying to engage with a drama while it also explores the complexities of the events that led up to the genocide and their subsequent historical interpretation. Twists and turns proliferate, but I struggled to keep up.
Relative newcomer Micheala Coen is stellar as Kate Ashby, a struggling Rwandan who was adopted by an English prosecutor after her parents were killed by Hutus. John Goodman is a solid set piece, but does not sizzle like Coen.
And what's with ALL THE VOMITING. It's as if the writers insisted on one graphic vomiting scene of a varying color per episode. I'm not even joking.