War dramas rarely deliver new titles that truly get under the skin. But this year, such a series has emerged on Prime Video — and it's already being compared to the iconic Band of Brothers.
It’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North — a project that immediately caught the attention of cinephiles and critics alike. And rightfully so.
The story is based on the Booker Prize–winning novel of the same name by Richard Flanagan, and it focuses not on the battlefield, but on captivity. At the centre is Australian army doctor Dorrigo Evans, played by Jacob Elordi, known for Euphoria and Priscilla.
The events unfold in 1943, when British and Australian prisoners of war are forced to build the Burma Railway — the very one constructed under inhuman conditions by over 60,000 POWs. This isn’t just a war chronicle — it’s a profound, piercing exploration of memory, love, guilt, and loyalty.
The writers chose a complex narrative structure: the story is told across three timelines — before the war, during captivity, and years after. Because of this, the war isn’t experienced as a series of events but as a lasting imprint on each character’s life. Elordi’s performance, in particular, has been praised for its restraint and depth — reminiscent, in some ways, of Guy Pearce in his finest roles. He’s not a hero or a saviour — but a man caught in a web of emotions and circumstance.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North never feels staged. There is silence, understated scenes, and pain that isn’t shouted but carried within. This is precisely what impressed critics — the series holds a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience score is more modest — 63%, possibly due to the slow pacing and lack of conventional action. But for fans of thoughtful, character-driven war dramas, this is essential viewing.
It’s a series about how war ends — but its consequences linger. And about how a person tries to find themselves in the silence that follows the gunfire.
