At first I thought this looked promising. I enjoyed the first couple of episodes, getting into the unusual story with a fascinating insight into the culture and history of Indonesia which was totally unfamiliar territory for me.
But this honeymoon period didn't last.
The pace got painfully slow in the later episodes, while the emotional level became steadily higher, reaching a point where I could easily have abandoned the show.
But I persisted. Having given up a few hours I wanted to see how it all resolved.
The plot is complex, to the extent that I found it hard to believe it might have happened. I didn't mind too much about the romanticising of tobacco, because I could accept it as a something that was going on while medical evidence eventually put a stop to it. But I really found it hard to enjoy the emotional interplay between parents and children.
If it had been edited down by maybe 3 hours I might have been more generous.
But this honeymoon period didn't last.
The pace got painfully slow in the later episodes, while the emotional level became steadily higher, reaching a point where I could easily have abandoned the show.
But I persisted. Having given up a few hours I wanted to see how it all resolved.
The plot is complex, to the extent that I found it hard to believe it might have happened. I didn't mind too much about the romanticising of tobacco, because I could accept it as a something that was going on while medical evidence eventually put a stop to it. But I really found it hard to enjoy the emotional interplay between parents and children.
If it had been edited down by maybe 3 hours I might have been more generous.