Prisoners of War (TV series)

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Prisoners of War
Hatufim title.jpg
Also known as 'Hatufim'
Genre
Created by Gideon Raff
Written by Gideon Raff
Directed by Gideon Raff
Starring
Country of origin Israel
Original language(s) Hebrew, Arabic
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 24
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Gideon Raff
  • Liat Benasuly
Producer(s) Liat Benasuly
Cinematography Itai Ne'eman
Running time 45–60 minutes
Production company(s) Keshet Media Group
Release
Original network Channel 2
Original release 6 March 2010 (2010-03-06) –
present
Chronology
Related shows Homeland
External links
Website (Hebrew)

Prisoners of War (original title in Hebrew: חטופים Translit.: Hatufim, Khatufim Translated: "Abductees") is an Israeli television drama series made by Keshet and originally aired on Israel's Channel 2 from March to May 2010. A second season aired in Israel from October to December 2012, and a third season is planned.[1] The series was created by Israeli director, screenwriter and producer Gideon Raff. In 2010 it won the Israeli Academy Award for Television for Best Drama Series.

The show was acquired by 20th Century Fox Television before it aired in Israel, and was adapted into the acclaimed series Homeland for Showtime in the United States.

Plot overview

The series, set in 2008, depicts three Israeli soldiers who were captured 17 years ago while on a secret mission with their unit in Lebanon.

Season 1

The story begins with the soldiers' return home after years of negotiations for their freedom. Nimrod Klein and Uri Zach return alive, along with the remains of Amiel Ben-Horin.

The series explores the reintegration of Nimrod and Uri into a society which has made them national icons, and into an interrupted family life, while working through the trauma of having been held captive and tortured. They must deal with partners who waited or moved on, children who have grown up without them, and parents who have died.

They also have to undergo psychiatric evaluations and military debriefings. When a military psychiatrist finds discrepancies in their stories, an investigation is launched to discover what they are hiding.[2][3]

Season 2

After flashbacks to events at a school in Metula in 1990, and to the period shortly after Nimrod and Uri's release, the second season rejoins the story a few days after the events at the end of the first season.

Initially disagreeing on what to do with their discovery that Amiel may still be alive, Nimrod and Uri take the information to Haim and Iris, who start to pursue their own (unofficial) investigation into what happened to Amiel - with unanticipated consequences.

Alongside this, the series continues to follow Nimrod and Uri (and the soldiers' families) as they pick up the pieces of their lives post-release. It also depicts Amiel for the first time as a living character - rather than in the visions experienced by Amiel's younger sister, Yael - and follows his new life as Yusuf, a Muslim, in Syria.

Cast and characters

Season 1

  • he as Nimrod Klein, a prisoner of war, and a brave, witty and intelligent man. He has difficulty readjusting to life with his wife and two children.
    • Yael Abecassis as Talia Klein, Nimrod's wife. She campaigned tirelessly for her husband's release. Since his return, she has trouble relating to him, and she finds that her life no longer has a clear purpose.
    • he as Dana, Nimrod's rebellious daughter, who was two years old when her father was captured.
    • he as Hatzav, Nimrod's teenage son, who was born after his father was taken captive.
  • Ishai Golan as Uri Zach, a shy and timid prisoner of war. He is very close to Nimrod. During Uri's captivity, his fiancée married his brother, and they had a son.
    • Mili Avital as Nurit Halevi-Zach, Uri's former fiancée. After mourning Uri's capture and becoming convinced that he was dead, she eventually grew close to and married his brother Yaki. She feels intense guilt after Uri's return.
    • he as Yaakov "Yaki" Zach, Uri's brother and Nurit's husband. He is concerned about the effect Uri's return might have on his marriage.
    • he as Asaf, son of Yaki and Nurit.
    • Shmuel Shilo as Joseph "Yoske" Zach, Uri and Yaki's elderly father and a widower.
  • Assi Cohen as Amiel Ben-Horin, a prisoner of war believed to have been killed during his captivity under mysterious circumstances.
    • Adi Ezroni as Yael Ben-Horin, Amiel's younger sister. She finds it impossible to deal with his death, and she begins to see him in visions.
  • he as Ilan Feldman, an IDF liaison to the families of killed, captured and injured soldiers.
  • he as Haim Cohen, an IDF psychologist. He leads the investigation of Nimrod and Uri, convinced that they are hiding something.
  • Sendi Bar as Iris, an IDF operative working with Haim.
  • Aki Avni as Ofer, owner of an advertising agency and a friend of Nimrod who served with him in the IDF.
  • he as Dr Shmuel Ostrovsky, Dana's therapist.
  • he as Ehud, son of Dr Ostrovsky.
  1. REDIRECT Template:Interlanguage link
  • This is a redirect from a page that was merged into another page. This redirect was kept in order to preserve this page's edit history after its content was merged into the target page's content. Please do not remove the tag that generates this text (unless the need to recreate content on this page has been demonstrated) nor delete this page. For more information follow the bold category link.
    • For redirects with substantive page histories that did not result from page merges use {{R with history}} instead. as Jamal Agrabiya, leader of the cell that captured and imprisoned Nimrod, Uri and Amiel.
  • Abdallah El Akal as young Ismail, son of Jamal.
  • Said Dasuki as teenage Ismail.

Season 2 (additional characters)

  • he as Leila, wife of Yusuf (Amiel).
  • Makram Khoury as Sheikh Qasab, father of Leila, and founder of the organisation responsible for the kidnapping of Nimrod, Uri and Amiel.
  • Yousef Sweid as Abdullah bin Rashid, serving a prison sentence in Israel for a terrorist attack but released as part of the prisoner exchange that freed Nimrod and Uri.
  • he as Yinon "Noni" Meiri, whose father was murdered by Abdullah when Noni was a child.
  • he as Dr Ze'ev Kaplan, an IDF psychologist.
  • he as Atar Shorer, a former Mossad chief who was killed in an accident around the time of Nimrod and Uri's release.
  • Boaz Konforty as Oren, a friend of Nimrod and a member of Nimrod and Uri's reserve unit.

Production

Filming commenced on the first season of Hatufim in August 2009.[4] First season episodes had a budget of $200,000 each.[5]

The second season of Hatufim was filmed between May and October 2011.[6][7] It was originally due to be broadcast in Israel from December 2011[8] but the premiere was put back to June 2012[5] and then October 2012 due to the state of the local advertising market.[9]

Gideon Raff has confirmed that he intends to write a third season of Hatufim.[10][11]

Reception

At the time of broadcast, the first season of Hatufim was Israel's highest-rated TV drama of all time.[5] It also achieved critical acclaim and was awarded Best Drama Series of 2010 by the Israeli Academy of Film and Television. For their work on the show, Gideon Raff won Best Directing for a Drama Series, Ishai Golan won Best Actor in a Drama Series, and Yael Abecassis won Best Actress in a Drama Series.[12][13]

The series was not without controversy. It was criticized by family members of soldiers held prisoner, including Miriam Groff, mother of one of the men released in the Jibril Agreement. She suggested that the series might encourage the kidnapping of soldiers.[14]

Viewing figures for the second season of Hatufim were even higher than for the first, with an average audience share of 40% (rising to 47.9% for the final episode) making it the highest-rated drama in Israel in 2012. Online viewing reached 3 million.[15]

At the 2013 Seoul International Drama Awards, Hatufim (season 2) was awarded the festival's Grand Prize, out of a total of 225 entries from 48 countries. Other series nominated included Homeland (season 2) and House (season 8).[16][17][18]

At the 2013 Israeli Academy Television Awards, season 2 of Hatufim was nominated in 9 categories, including (for Drama Series) Best Series, Best Directing (Gideon Raff), Best Screenplay (Gideon Raff) and Best Actor (Assi Cohen).[19][20][21]

In December 2009, three months before Hatufim premiered in Israel, it was reported that the rights to develop an American version of the series had been sold to 20th Century Fox Television.[22] It was sold on the strength of the script alone, before the series had even begun shooting. The result was the acclaimed show Homeland, developed in cooperation with Gideon Raff and broadcast on cable channel Showtime.[5][23]

Following on from the success of Hatufim in Israel, and the worldwide success of Homeland, Keshet has sold the original series (in Hebrew with subtitles) in a number of territories internationally, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, the United States and several European countries.[24][25][26] The rights to produce local versions of the series have been sold in Russia[27][28][29] (due to start filming in March 2014[30]), Colombia and Mexico[31][32] Turkey[25][33][34] and South Korea.[35] A version with dubbing of the Hebrew dialogue, but undertitles for the Arabic dialogue, has been produced for the German market and broadcast by ARTE.

Author Stephen King included Hatufim (season 1) at number 8 in his top 10 TV shows of 2012.[36]

The New York Times placed Hatufim (season 2) at number 2 in its top 12 TV shows of 2013.[37]

Episodes

Season 1 (2010)

# Title[38][39] Written & Directed by Original air date
1 1 "Homecoming"(original Hebrew title: השיבה, "The Return") Gideon Raff 6 March 2010 (2010-03-06)
2 2 "The Facility, Part 1" Gideon Raff 13 March 2010 (2010-03-13)
3 3 "The Facility, Part 2" Gideon Raff 20 March 2010 (2010-03-20)
4 4 "Letters from Mom" Gideon Raff 27 March 2010 (2010-03-27)
5 5 "Keep Your Soul"[40] Gideon Raff 10 April 2010 (2010-04-10)
6 6 "The Journal" Gideon Raff 17 April 2010 (2010-04-17)
7 7 "A Picture from Hell"(original Hebrew title: תמונה מהשבי, "A Picture from Captivity") Gideon Raff 24 April 2010 (2010-04-24)
8 8 "Family Portrait"(original Hebrew title: 'ושבו מצרימה...', "'...And They Return to Egypt'"[41]) Gideon Raff 8 May 2010 (2010-05-08)
9 9 "Awake at Night"[42][43][44] Gideon Raff 15 May 2010 (2010-05-15)
10 10 "The Tape"(original Hebrew title: גילוי מצבה, "Unveiling of a Monument") Gideon Raff 22 May 2010 (2010-05-22)

Season 2 (2012)

# Title[38][45][46] Written & Directed by Original air date
11 1 "First Grade"(original Hebrew title: להתראות מתוק, "Goodbye, Sweetie"[47]) Gideon Raff 15 October 2012 (2012-10-15)
12 2 "Birthday"(original Hebrew title: חג לה שמח, "Happy Birthday"[48]) Gideon Raff 16 October 2012 (2012-10-16)
13 3 "Little Lies" Gideon Raff 22 October 2012 (2012-10-22)
14 4 "Blue" Gideon Raff 23 October 2012 (2012-10-23)
15 5 "A Ghost from the Past"(original Hebrew title: פקידה פלוגתית, "Platoon Secretary") Gideon Raff 29 October 2012 (2012-10-29)
16 6 "The Song"(original Hebrew title: חופים, "Shores"[47]) Gideon Raff 5 November 2012 (2012-11-05)
17 7 "The Picture" Gideon Raff 12 November 2012 (2012-11-12)
18 8 "The Double Agent"(original Hebrew title: מותו של סוכן, "Death of a Salesman")[49] Gideon Raff 26 November 2012 (2012-11-26)
19 9 "Mika's Boyfriend" Gideon Raff 3 December 2012 (2012-12-03)
20 10 "The Notebook"(original Hebrew title: חלבה, "Halva") Gideon Raff 10 December 2012 (2012-12-10)
21 11 "Our Agent in Damascus"(original Hebrew title: האישה שלנו בדמשק, "Our Woman in Damascus"[50]) Gideon Raff 17 December 2012 (2012-12-17)
22 12 "The Kidnapping"(original Hebrew title: נוהל חניבעל, "The Hannibal Procedure") Gideon Raff 18 December 2012 (2012-12-18)
23 13 "Operation Judea"(original Hebrew title: מבצע יהודה, "Operation Judah"[51]) Gideon Raff 24 December 2012 (2012-12-24)
24 14 "Prisoners of War" Gideon Raff 25 December 2012 (2012-12-25)

Songs

Season Episode Song title Written by Performed by Album (year) When featured in episode
1 2
10
"I Have Come Home"
(Hebrew: הנה באתי הביתה, Hine Bati Habaita)
Dana Berger &
he
Dana Berger &
Itay Pearl
I Have Come Home
(2010)
Episode 2 - at the start, during Nimrod's early morning run.
Episode 10 - during the end credits.
(Although the song was released in 2010, it was not written specifically for the series.)[52][53]
5 "Keep Your Soul - The Guard Song"
(Hebrew: שמרי נפשך - שיר משמר, Shimri Nafshech - Shir Mishmar)
Nathan Alterman &
Sasha Argov
Chava Alberstein Let It Be
(Hebrew: לו יהי, Lu Yehi)
(1973)
After Amiel's funeral, while Yael's dogs are being walked.[54][55]
10 "In A Dream"
(Hebrew: בחלום, Bachalom)
Jaroslav Jakubovic &
Michal Vered
Anat Atzmon In A Dream
(1989)
At the start, when Uri is listening to old cassette tapes,
and later, in Nurit's kitchen.[56][57]
2 1 "Goodbye, Sweetie"
(Hebrew: להתראות מתוק, Lehitraot Matok)
he &
he
Nurit Galron Goodbye, Sweetie
(2000)
At the end, during the Nurit Galron concert.[58][59]
6 "Shores (Are Sometimes)"
(Hebrew: (חופים (הם לפעמים, Chofim (Hem Lifamim))
Natan Yonatan &
he
N/A N/A Hummed/sung by Abdullah at the end of prayers and while carrying out surveillance,
and later by Yusuf (Amiel) in his bathroom.[60][61][62]
12 "The Heart"
(Hebrew: הלב, Halev)
he &
Svika Pick
N/A N/A "Ivy" quotes lyrics from the song ("it's an autumn night and there are no stars")
while on the radio to "Bird".[63][64][65]
14 "The Song of the Land"
(Hebrew: השיר על הארץ, Hashir Al Haaretz)
Joshua Sobol &
Yoni Rechter
Nurit Galron A Gentle Touch
(Hebrew: נגיעה אחת רכה, Negia Achat Raka)
(1984)
Towards the end, on the radio in Yael's living room.[66][67][68]

Broadcast

Hatufim in its original format (in Hebrew with subtitles) has been sold internationally for broadcast on network and pay television, for download via VOD, and for DVD release.

Season 1

The first season (10 episodes) aired on Channel 2 in Israel from 6 March to 22 May 2010.

In the UK it was shown on Sky Arts from 10 May to 12 July 2012.[69] It was Hulu's first foreign language exclusive series in the United States, with episodes released weekly from 14 July to 15 September 2012.[3] In Australia it was broadcast from 19 January to 23 March 2013 on SBS.[70] In Canada it was aired on Super Channel, two episodes at a time, from 10 July to 7 August 2013.[71]

Season 2

The second season (14 episodes) aired in Israel from 15 October to 25 December 2012. The majority of episodes were released a week in advance for online viewing (rental service) via makoVOD.[45]

In the United States, episodes were released weekly from 28 May to 20 August 2013 on Hulu.[38][72] In Canada, season 2 was shown on Super Channel immediately after the end of season 1, from 14 August to 25 September 2013 (two episodes at a time). In Australia it was broadcast on SBS from 2 October 2013 to 15 January 2014.[73][74] Having initially said that it had no plans to show Season 2, Sky Arts aired it in the UK from 22 April to 22 July 2014.[69][75]

DVD releases

Season Audio Subtitles Release dates Episodes Discs
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
1 Hebrew English 8 October 2013 (Canada)[76][77]
8 July 2014 (United States)[78][79]
16 July 2012[80] 3 April 2013[81][82] 10 3
Hebrew
French
French N/A 22 May 2013[83][84][85] N/A 10 3
Hebrew
German
German N/A 8 August 2013[86] N/A 10 3
2 Hebrew English 19 August 2014 (Canada)[87]
16 September 2014 (United States)[88]
28 July 2014[89] 4 December 2013[90] 14 4
Hebrew
French
French N/A 5 November 2014[91] N/A 14 5
Hebrew
German
German N/A 30 April 2015[92] N/A 14 4
1 & 2 Hebrew Hebrew
English
N/A 20 March 2013[93][94][95] N/A 24 7
Hebrew English N/A 28 July 2014[96] N/A 24 7
Hebrew
French
French N/A 5 November 2014[97] N/A 24 8

References

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External links

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  40. Title is the name of a song featured during the episode.
  41. Hebrew title is a partial quotation from Exodus 13:17.
  42. Title is a reference to Erim Balaila (Awake at Night), the Israeli association of former prisoners of war founded in 1998. The support group depicted in the episode included a number of real-life ex-POWs.
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  47. 47.0 47.1 Hebrew title is the name of a song featured during the episode.
  48. Hebrew title is a line from a traditional Israeli birthday song (similar to "Happy Birthday to You"), as sung to a female recipient.
  49. Episode was originally scheduled for 19 November 2012 but broadcast was postponed on account of Operation Pillar of Defense which was ongoing at that time.
  50. Hebrew title is a reference to the book Our Man in Damascus (Ben-Hanan 1967) which tells the story of Israeli spy Eli Cohen.
  51. In the Biblical story of Joseph in Egypt, Joseph's brother Judah plays an instrumental role in both the selling of Joseph into slavery and the eventual reconciliation of their family.
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  69. 69.0 69.1 http://www.geektown.co.uk/tvairdates/prisoners-of-war
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  74. No episodes broadcast on 25 December 2013 or 1 January 2014.
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  82. Released in PAL format for Australian market (ie Region 4) but DVD itself is region-free.
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