Blaine: Watched a new Hulu series. It’s called “No Man’s Land”. It’s about a French man named Antoine Habert, and for two years both he and his family have believed that his sister Anna was killed in a bomb explosion in the Middle East. After seeing a news report on T.V., Antoine sees someone who reminds him of his sister. He travels to Syria to find her. It’s very dangerous there with a battle going on, but he manages to survive and what keeps him going is finding Anna. Antoine finds himself working with a unit of Kurdish female fighters. He’s also getting a learning experience on what’s going on in Syria and what these fighters are going through.
Maria Feldman is one of the creators of the show and she said the idea came to her when she was admiring the women who are Kurdish fighters on this news report she was watching. They said ISIS soldiers are not afraid to die in battle. Maria got a real lesson from that news report and it was so fascinating to her. She wanted to know more about them, so she did research. Maria felt it was important to show what those women are going through in the war in Syria, and so she created the show “No Man’s Land”.
A lot of people were very helpful in bringing the show to life. Producers from different countries, Israeli, France, America, were of big help by getting the money for the show. Hulu wanted to help too. A lot of people believed in the show.
There was a lot of places in Morocco that looked Middle Eastern and they shot everything that takes place in Syria in Morocco.
The languages on the show are French and Curtis. The characters speak English on the show too, but not often.
There’s an actress on “No Man’s Land” who I am familiar with. Her name is Souheila Yacoub, and she is best known for being in one of my top favorite movies, “Climax”. “Climax” was a movie that had an ensemble of professional dancers. There was one star in that film and that was actress Sofia Boutella. Some of the other dancers got a taste for acting after doing “Climax”, like Claude Gajan Maull, and Souhelia Yacoub. Souheila Yacoub is fantastic in “No Man’s Land”. Her character, Sarya, has been through a lot, has seen a lot in battle, and is risking her own life.
This was really inspiring for Souhelia to learn what Kurdish fighters do and represent. It made her want to fight with them. She feels everyone should know about the Kurdish fighters, and the people who watch the show will get a lesson out of it.
Antoine took the news about his sister hard, but then someone special came into his life and took the pain away. He believed his sister was dead, and he moved on. But there’s been a sign that Anna might be alive and now he's obsessing over it. Antoine left France without informing his wife and she is very upset with him for leaving, and putting his life in danger. Looks like the marriage is over.
Sarya can not get involved with a man, but nice guys like Antoine are hard to resist. She knows he has someone back in France, but that relationship is over. Antoine finds a new love, and Sarya is the lucky girl.
Sarya likes Antoine too, but that doesn’t mean she wants to leave everything behind and have a life with him. She is devoted to her job. She can settle down at times whenever there is nothing else to do but wait.
Sarya is not the type who is hard on you, but she is strong enough to put you down if she has to.
Sarya use to live in France, and she had a life there. Then her mother died and her father decided to move them back to Syria. Sarya was against it and felt she had no purpose in Syria, until she met the Kurdish fighters. So then she joined and devoted herself to them.
Sarya is use to the feeling of losing someone. The first time she felt it was after her mom passed away. And she’s lost friends in battle, but she stays strong. Although the feeling of lose still hurts her inside. Every time someone she cares for dies it upsets her, even though she knows none of them should fear death.
Antoine has no experience in fighting in a battle, but he learns fast, and Sarya teaches him how to shoot with a rifle. Antoine is afraid of all the bomb explosions and shooting, but he is strong enough to take on anything. He goes there to find Anna, and becomes a fighter. Another thing about Antoine is he has heart. He really cares for others, and he wants to help these fighters succeed.
If Anna is alive that means she faked her own death. The question is why is she pretending to be dead?
Anna is not only one of the main subjects of the show, but also a main character. There’s an episode that shows who she is, her relationship with her brother, and what became of her. Anna is played by Melanie Thierry, she’s a popular actress in France. Melanie Thierry doesn’t usually do T.V., she’s more into cinema, but there was something about “No Man’s Land” that had a lot of unique qualities and it represents something important. Melanie is a powerful presence on the show.
Anna is a lot of things, mysterious, skilled, devoted like the rest of the women, is hardcore. Anna was written as a strong character, and Melanie Thierry gave the character everything through her performance.
Antoine and Anna are very close as brother and sister, and the actors who played them, Felix Moati and Melanie Thierry, have a close relationship themselves because they’ve worked with each other before.
Rotten Tomatoes gave “No Man’s Land” a 50% rating. They don’t understand the show is really representing something that is actually happening and a lot of people have really worked hard on the show. “No Man’s Land” has gotten higher ratings from IMDB and Google users compared to Rotten Tomatoes.
Me?, I find the show interesting and it has elements that attract me. There’s a mystery here and it makes you want to know what happened.
The show doesn’t look cheap after everything I’ve seen in it. People put a lot of work into the show, from the writing, to the performances, to the editing.
WARNING: If you’re interested in watching the show, I would stop reading from here.
What Antoine believed is true. Anna is alive, and Antoine is reunited with her, although she’s not happy he found her. Anna is not just a Kurdish fighter herself, but is also working undercover.
Anna is upset with Antoine, but she can’t stay mad at him because she knows he cares too much. Not to mention he’s her brother, and she loves him no matter what.
There are parts to Anna that are hard to read for Antoine. She was able to fool him into believing she was dead, but that didn’t last forever. Anna can cover her tracks from everyone, except her brother because he never gives up and he’s very observant.
What Antoine and Anna have in common is they are both positive people and have strong feelings on what they believe in.
Sarya has been hit, and it’s possible she will die. Antoine won’t allow this. He’s the only person who has a conscience strong enough to actually care for the life of someone else. He knows these people are willing to die as warriors, but he also knows there is more to life than just fighting. Sarya is still young and has her whole life ahead of her. Anna can see how strongly Antoine feels about this. Sarya has become just as important to Antoine as Anna.
Antoine will never stop carrying, just as Anna will never stop being who she is.
Antoine has a way of bringing out the side to people that cares. Anna finds a way to save Sarya….that’s a relief. Sarya is injured and probably is not capable of fighting anymore. She might have to retire from being a Kurdish fighter. Sarya is transferred to a hospital in France, and Antoine goes with her. They’ll be spending a lot more time together. Plus Sarya missed France.
Antoine has to keep his mouth shut about Anna being alive. Anna isn’t done yet, and she knows her place. Antoine understands, and keeps his promise. It’s good enough for him to know his sister is still alive, and he hopes she’ll be safe. His trip wasn’t all for nothing. Even if he didn’t find Anna, he developed a relationship with Sarya, and he’ll probably take care of her.
Things don’t look like they are over just yet. By the end of the season it looks like there is more to come for Anna. Creator Maria Feldman said they are already putting season 2 together right now. It’s good to know the show will continue because I’m curious to see what happens next.
