Ritorno a casa

"Coming Home" could make a very engrossing 6-8 hour mini-series; unfortunately this production is all surface fairy-tale gloss with none of the depth and intent of the book. Vast and important chunks of the original story are missing; most of the remnants are turned upside-down and inside-out, and given a relentlessly sentimental greeting-card treatment. The author's serious attempt to portray life as she knew it as a young woman before, during, and after WWII is almost completely lost. A group of very interesting and capable actors is pretty much wasted. Its difficult to understand why the producers took the approach they did; one gets the impression that they must not have liked the original book much.