Crimes on the home front
I’ve been obsessively watching Foyle’s War, a British detective series that takes place on the home front while World War II rages on the continent. The show started in 2002 and will offer a ninth season in 2015 (the eight previous seasons are available on Netflix).
Christopher Foyle (Michael Kitchen) is the detective chief superintendent responsible for investigating crimes in Hastings, a town on Britain’s southern coast (almost half of its 65,000 residents were evacuated in 1940). The show explores crimes made possible by the war. In one episode, a fire brigade responding to enemy bombing is stealing items from victims’ homes. In another, a secret government weapons program goes awry and officials cover up the release of toxic chemicals in the countryside. The series punctures the myth of the “good war” by showing that while the lads were off doing their bit, others were doing for themselves.
The show has a rhythm: Foyle has to solve the case, get someone he cares about off the hook, and restore justice to Hastings and to the war effort. He inevitably succeeds, usually giving a rousing speech about how he solved the case while the culprits express amazement and sometimes remorse. The moral formula is as satisfying as the cinematographic one.
