A 'brutally brilliant' Second World War mini-series boasting a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score and featuring Jacob Elordi is currently streaming on BBC iPlayer. The Narrow Road to the Deep North, an Amazon Prime original production, charts the story of Dorrigo Evans (Elordi), an army surgeon whose forbidden romance with his uncle's wife (Odessa Young) continues to plague him during his imprisonment as a Thai-Burmese prisoner of war.
A Story of Love and War
The narrative unfolds along the Burma Railway in 1943 and throughout the Pacific theatre during the Second World War. We witness the barbarity of conflict, alongside an enduring romance, as experienced through the perspective of the Australian medic and captive. The series follows Dorrigo Evans across three periods of his life, weaving together his pre-war love affair, his harrowing experiences as a POW, and his later years as a celebrated surgeon.
Critical Acclaim
One IMDB viewer awarded the series 10 stars, describing it as 'brutally brilliant.' They wrote: 'One of the hardest things I watched yet one of the best things I watched.' The reviewer added: 'Do yourself a favour and press play. Photography is just alluring, poetic and yet so descriptive that you just can't look away. Storytelling is compelling and keeps you constantly engaged, its tragedy and mourning, and romance, and longing and suffering and friendship and companionship. All together, all at once.'
Another IMDB reviewer called the series a 'true underrated sleeper that will blow you away,' noting: 'This miniseries just creeps up on you. The love entanglements and pre war backstory can be a bit confusing; Then episode 4 drops on you, and you are just blown away. This should be one of those success stories of a little known, under marketed miniseries that came out of nowhere.'
Comparisons to Band of Brothers
The reviewer went on to say: 'If you enjoyed The Pacific or Band of Brothers for its exposure of the inhumanity and futility of war - this will be a real treat. It's haunting and makes you think. It sticks in your mind.' The series, created by Shaun Grant and Justin Kurzel, has been praised for its unflinching portrayal of the atrocities of war and the enduring impact of trauma. Despite being a short series, viewers become deeply invested in the characters, suffering and laughing with them, and missing them when they are gone.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North is streaming now on BBC iPlayer.
