Homeland - Season 1

One of the best intelligent and subtle programmes I have seen recently. Made me watch it far more quickly than I planned to as I was so keen to see the next episode. This deals with the complexities of human experience, especially in the modern era of 'terrorism' - it debates what is terrorism; religion; what is justified; it admits US mistakes of accidental mass murder; it looks at the cult of political power and what people will do to gain it - what is one person's pain, is another person's triumph. What it means to be a traitor or a hero. As well as complex ideological issues which some viewers may not get, or want to get as it sometimes challenges our US/euro-centric view of the world - reading some of the low-star reviews, there are complex and subtle characters. Both Brodie (Damien Lewis - whose performances are always phenomenally complex and three dimensional) and Carrie's characters were superb - both very complicated and dealing with intelligent brokenness in different ways. It is this superb acting that keep the movie in such suspense - not being able to tell what might happen next, as real people work in very complex and sometimes contradictory ways. No one can say that the characters are simplistic - and all the characters did bring empathy and interest - including the personal sadness of Saul and his costly support of Carrie. The balance between current and past timelines was excellent - and produced just at the right time to keep the suspense going. It was great to genuinely have no idea which way the plot was going to turn - certainly until we are given more information through-out the series. A worthy follower of 24, without quite so much gore. Now for series two...

Made in 2011 and screened in the UK between Frbruary and May 2012, Homeland is a decent 12 episode drama telling the story of US marine Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) who has returned to the US after surviving eight years of being captured by enemy forces. He is keenly placed under surveillance by CIA operative Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) who, in her obsessive approach, is determined to confirm that he has turned into a supporter of the enemy during his time away. This is a tense quality series which throws up a few surprises here and there. Fine acting from all the cast, although I feel that some of the cast would have been better cast if more real looking women were playing some roles rather than the model-like actors featured here. Series 2 starts shortly in the US and I'd be keen to see how that plays out too. The DVD set has some extras inclusing a very short Prologue to Season 2, a half hour behind the scenes feature, some episode commentaries and some deleted scenes. Well worth the watch if you appreciate a decent drama.

Justly deserving lots of praise for great production, highly credible acting and some great -sub-plots. Following on from series like 24 (the early series' at least) and West Wing which set bench marks for quality, the great thing about Homeland is there are few predictable elements which might make the story more palatable especially to the home audience - I half expected the main bad guy to suddenly reveal there was a conventional noble motive which so far hasn't happened - credit to be given for avoiding that cliché Most satisfying aspects include the way it's hard to like any of the characters really - they all have qualities that make them 'dislikeable' and the superficially less appealing characters grow on you as the series plays out. Looking forward to S2 which I am told is even better

If you look at the other reviews, you'll see most people love the show and a few really dislike it. How to tell if you're likely to be in the majority or minority? Three things I think. First, as US dramas go, it's fairly slow paced. Compared to, say, 24 the plots moves along at a snail's pace. I think that works really well, as it makes the moments of drama and action that much more shocking and enjoyable to watch. (With 24, much though I loved it, after a while you get punch drunk: 'oh, what's the amazing twist that is going to be coming up any moment now as we're nearly at an advert break...?'). Second, most series like this run into the issue that nearly all the times the good guys close in on the bad guys you just know something is going to go wrong as you're not yet in the final episode, so you have a lot of false climaxes. I find that irritating, and really liked the way Homeland mostly avoided that. On the other hand, if you find those false climaxes tense and fun, you'll probably miss them in this show. Third, Damian Lewis comes over as rather wooden. Bad acting that you dislike? Or good acting that shows someone struggling to get to grips with their emotions? To enjoy the show, you need to pick the latter. Hope that helps you make your choice!

This is a briliiant piece of drama which is really well acted and superbly directed, following a story line which introduces startling surprises and new layers of tension throughout. It is one of the best video drama series I have seen in the last decade, and bears watching over and over again. Moral, ethical, political and religious issues are addressed within a tightly written script and it is easy to drift (if sometimes uncritically) into this world of international conflict (sometimes played out violently,at other times diplomatically) as well as personal and institutional dilemmas. The characters struggle with loyalties to family, ideology and country and every viewer will bring their own take on the issues to the unfolding series of events. The story line leaves you wanting to know what happens next and it compels you to empathise with the main characters and really care what happens next. It doesn't take sides (unless you do) and it doesn't take prisoners

riveting and fast paced. keep you by the edge of your seat!

Homeland ha uno spunto di partenza intrigante: un militare disperso in Iraq torna a casa, ma in realtà ha subito il lavaggio del cervello e torna a casa come terrorista islamico. C'è quanto basta per un thriller che tiene incollati alla poltrona, ma Homeland ha molto di più. In primo luogo, una grande attenzione al lato umano della vicenda, eredità dello show originale israeliano Hatufim (Prigionieri di guerra) da cui la serie è liberamente tratta. Il sergente Brody, convertito all'Islam, non è una macchina di morte, ma un uomo come tutti, con contraddizioni, dubbi e incertezze: sulla sua missione, sul suo Paese natio, e sulla sua famiglia che, dopo averlo creduto morto, si trova frastornata dal suo ritorno e dall'inevitabile clamore mediatico. In secondo luogo, Homeland presenta una singolare coppia di "buoni" che seguono la pista di Brody: l'agente della CIA Carrie Mathison e il suo mentore, Saul Berenson. Carrie - dotata di un intuito senza pari - ha però un leggero problema personale. E' bipolare, e dipende dai farmaci. A Saul spetta l'arduo compito di sovrintendere alla missione di Carrie - l'unica a sospettare di Brody - e di proteggerla, nascondendo il suo segreto ai vertici della CIA, intrecciando con lei un rapporto che a momenti, più che quello tra mentore e allievo, sembra quello tra un padre e una figlia. Le cose si complicheranno quando, a sorpresa, tra Carrie e il terrorista Brody nascerà un'attrazione... E tutti i protagonisti dovranno scegliere, in qualche modo, tra fedeltà e tradimento: nei confronti della patria, della famiglia, degli ideali. Strapremiati, meritatamente, gli interpreti, Claire Danes/Carrie, Mandy Patinkin/Saul e Damian Lewis/Brody, ma i co-protagonisti non sono da meno (in particolare Morena Baccarin nella parte di Jessica, la tormentata moglie di Brody). Infine, impossibile non elogiare una scrittura (Howard Gordon e Alex Gansa) sorvegliatissima, che tiene il ritmo e la tensione, mai cadere in eccessi truculenti "HBO-style". Per chi scrive, serie consigliatissima, da vedere assolutamente.

テレビ放送やDVDと違い、画質が良いです。DVDレンタルを何回もするより買って良かったです。

¡Qué buena fue la primera temporada de Homeland! Te crea una intriga al estilo de la primera de Prison Break, con mucho cliffhanger y muchas ambiguedades. Una pena que la 2 y 3 temporada bajasen un poco la calidad. Si la línea argumental de la historia de la hija se la cargasen, la serie ganaria todo.

J'ai adoré cette série, et je me suis beaucoup attachée à ces personnages un peu hors normes. Le premier épisode passé, on devient littéralement accro. Cette série exploite la paranoïa américaine et sa lutte contre le terrorisme. Un soldat américain (interprété par Damian Lewis) qui était resté prisonnier en Iraq pendant 8 ans est libéré, et est célébré comme un héros national à son retour aux Etats Unis. Tout le monde pense même qu'il s'en sort plutôt bien, et qu'il rebondit dans le bon sens. C'est sans compter sur un agent de la CIA, superbement interprété par Claire Danes, qui le soupçonne en fait d'être une taupe convertie et travaillant pour le compte d'Al Qaeda. Plein de rebondissements, un réalisme étrange, qui émane du jeu des acteurs. Une des meilleures séries du moment, que je recommande absolument. A voir en VO.