My Mother and Other Strangers

The year is 1943 and although the threat of war is far away in the Irish hamlet of Moybeg, which has only a few dozen inhabitants, the war is still felt here. The small, mostly poor community is experiencing the war in its own way and in its day-to-day life feels threatened mainly by the presence of an American air base located nearby. Where the average citizen of Moybeg lives off what the land or the fishing brings him, the only exception is the Coyne family, of which Rose, the mother not only acts as a teacher but also runs the local and only shop, while her husband takes care of the adjoining pub and their farm. They are the only residents of Moybeg who can afford a maid in their household and help on their farm. The pub of the Coyne family is about the only attraction in the area that is visited by locals as well as by the staff and pilots of the air force base, although the meetings between the two parties are by no means cordial. That situation does not improve when one of the pilots catches his eye on the 16-year-old daughter of the family, Emma, who is the only young girl in the area, so to speak. which causes resentment. After an argument between the two parties that got out of hand, resolved by Mother Rose with a double barrel in hand, a new liaison officer arrives at the air base to act as a buffer between army personnel and the local population. In itself a tight plan, were it not for the fact that mother Rose gradually develops feelings for the new captain, which does not really make the whole situation any easier. This is by no means a flashy series but, in my opinion, a realistic attempt to portray life during the second world war somewhere far away in a small Irish hamlet, which worked out wonderfully well and during the five episodes that the series counts, fascinating enough. remains, even if it concerns a place where you can hear the grass grow, so to speak.