Common Sense Media Review
By Melissa Camacho
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Violent, empathetic thriller has cursing, smoking, sex.
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Fauda
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
The award-winning Israeli series FAUDA (translation: Chaos) is an action series revolving around the stories of operatives on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Eighteen months after being credited with killing Hamas terrorist Taufiq Hamed, a.k.a Abu Ahmad or "The Panther" (Hisham Suliman), now-retired Israeli Defense Force (IDF) commander Doron Kabilio (Lior Raz) is living on a farm with his wife Gali (Neta Garty), his young son Ido (Mel Malka) and daughter Noga (Daniel Bronfin). But when Israeli intelligence discovers that The Panther is still alive, Doron rejoins the Mista'arvim unit at the behest of now-commander Mickey Moreno (Yuval Segal) to capture him. Along with the team, including Naor (Tzachi Halevy), Nurit (Rona-Lee Shimon), Steve Pinto (Doron Ben-David), Avhigai (Boaz Konforty), and Gali's younger brother Boaz (Tomer Kapon), he sets out to capture Taufiq at his brother Bashir's (Samer Bisharat) wedding. What transpires sets into motion a deadly cat and mouse game played on both sides of the Iron Wall.
Is It Any Good?
This well-written, well-performed series is inspired by co-creators Lior Raz and Avi Assacharoff's experiences serving in the IDF and other real-world events. Fauda offers an empathetic portrayal of the people involved in its Israeli-Palestinian conflict-themed narratives. Each season features Doron (played by Raz) and his unit as they hunt down and eliminate operatives, which leads to lots of action-packed military tactics and gritty violence. While this is offered from an Israeli point of view, at its heart are the personal stories of the Israeli and Palestinian operatives, and how those associated with them are affected by their actions.
As such, viewers are allowed to see people on both sides negotiate romantic relationships, parenting responsibilities, friendships, and job politics as they stick to deep-seated belief systems that justify horrific violence and seeking revenge against one another. It's entertaining, but also serves as a bleak reminder of the real-life, on-going discord in the area, and the toll it takes on all those who live there.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. When did it begin? Why? How have things changed in the Levant region since the series began airing in 2015?
Fauda shows both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but does it do so objectively? Why or why not?
TV Details
- Premiere date : December 2, 2016
- Cast : Lior Raz , Hisham Suliman , Shadi Mar’i
- Network : Netflix
- Genre : Action
- Character Strengths : Perseverance , Teamwork
- TV rating :
- Last updated : December 10, 2023
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