What is the plot?

After declaring the end of the armed struggle in 2011, Bittori decides to return to the village, from which she was forced to leave, after the murder of her husband Txato by ETA. She wants Joxe Mari, who is in prison serving a sentence and is the son of her former best friend, to apologize to her. Two families, who have been friends in the past, will suffer the consequences of an armed conflict that never made sense, a war in which everyone is a victim.

Patria is the adaptation in mini-series format, of the acclaimed novel of the same title, published in 2016 and written by Fernando Aramburu, a very prestigious author, with a large number of books published and translated into more than thirty languages.

The novel received excellent reviews when it was published, because the author knew how to reflect through a fictional story, the armed conflict that Spain suffered due to the thirty years of activities of the terrorist group ETA.

The production of HBO has achieved a correct adaptation of the novel. Although it never surpasses the original work, so I also recommend reading the book. The story focuses on how the conflict affects Basque society. The plot is set in a rural village in the area and the protagonists are two families with deep ties of friendship.

Through a story centered on a particular story, they will show us the divisions that an entire society suffered. The two sides of the same coin, in a war in which everyone was a loser.

I found it to be a very moving mini-series, with chapters in which it was impossible not to shed a tear. Eight episodes that correctly absorb the essence of the book, with a message of reconciliation, difficult but necessary.

For many victims it is impossible to demand that they forgive the pain and suffering for the lives destroyed by ETA terrorism. The wounds are visible, the scars are there. But forgiveness is the only way to find some peace after so many years of pain.

The story told in the mini-series is totally fictitious, but in reality many people faced each other and ended up as victims. This conflict had no winner. Everyone was a victim of hate.

One of the successes of the novel, and which is reflected in the mini-series, is that it does not take a position in favor of any position. With respect to all the victims, it reflects a social and political reality that caused the spilling of innocent blood throughout a country.

The controversial promotion.

The controversy arose when HBO decided to promote the mini-series using a two-frame poster. On one side was Bittori mourning the death of her husband, Txato, under a heavy rain. On the other side was Joxe Mari, naked in a fetal position, in a room surrounded by police who were apparently torturing him.

Social networks, the new site of great controversy, especially Twitter, were flooded with inflammatory messages. For many, it was to equate and equalize the suffering of ETA victims with that of the killers who were being tortured.

The victims were vilely killed by members of that terrorist group, either by gunfire or by bombs. Instead, the killers or perpetrators chose the path of violence.

Fortunately, it was only a poor choice of promotion, or perhaps it was made for that purpose, to create controversy to attract viewers. The important thing is that the mini-series did not make that mistake, by adapting the message of the novel in the right way.

_Source

Aitor Gabilondo , is the creator of the mini-series, and he was in charge of writing the adaptation of the novel's script. He has been the creator of other Spanish series with good public acceptance: Alli Abajo o vivir sin permiso. The direction of the episodes was made by Feliz Viscarret and Oscar Pedraza.

The selection of the actors that make up the cast of the mini-series has been a success, with a first class job, like all HBO productions, which have an extraordinary quality seal.

Elenea Irureta in the role of Bittori and Ane Gabarain in that of Miren. Both actresses, with a long career in film and television, are transformed into these two women who were initially friends, but the armed conflict separates them.

Each of their characters is played with credibility, realism and a lot of emotion. If there were an award for best performance in the mini-series, both actresses would receive it.

The other supporting characters totally fulfill the role assigned to them, each actor in the cast has his moment to shine, showing us how they affect terrorism in their lives.

José Ramón Soroiz , an actor who has focused his career on Basque television and theater plays Txato, the Basque businessman, husband of Bittori, who will be a fatal victim of ETA. Mikel Laskurain , a veteran actor , plays Joxian, Miren's husband and Txato's best friend, a man who hides his pain with his silence.

Actress Susana Abaitua plays Txato's daughter Nerea, who must be strong to heal the wounds caused by the terrorists. Iñigo Aranbarri plays Xabier, Txato's other son, the young doctor who refused to be happy. Eneko Sagardoy plays Gorka, son of Miren and Joxian, the young man who will decide to escape from his village, to leave, because he is against all that madness of armed struggle and in his journey he will find himself, establishing a loving relationship. Jon Olivares, plays Joxe Mari, harmano de Gorka who joins ETA.

The actress Loreto Mauleón, known for her work in El Secreto de Puente Viejo since 2012, does an excellent job in Patria, playing Arantxa, Joxe Mari's sister and Gorka. A terrible illness left her prostrate in a wheelchair, barely moving and unable to speak, doubling her suffering.

Trailer

_Source

POSTER

_Source