Lawbolisted Powerful

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

kris-gray I enjoyed this series when it was first broadcast and do so every time it is repeated somewhere, currently on the Drama channel. I always felt it ended too quickly with only 2 series set in the camps, there could easily have been another set there before the one in Singapre. I was also disappointed when the character of Blanch was written out, bad enough when Rose died but we never saw Blanche's passing just the camera panning past her grave marker.If you have never seen it I can only say you should as soon as possible either when it is repeated again on either Yesterday or Drama, or buy the DVD box set and watch it over and over again. My only criticism, and you may guess from my title, is the on set catering must have been good, I've never seen such well fed prisoners of Japan, Kate Norris and Dorothy are almost obese!! Not one would look so healthy after four years of imprisonment! I should also like to mention the lack of hairy legs, but then I'm just being picky.One of the best series of the 80's from Auntie Beeb and highly recommended.

chrissso Many of the BBC WW2 television series from 1970 to 1990 leave something to be desired. Shows such as Secret Army, Island at War, Wish Me luck or Enemy at the Door certainly illustrate unique historical settings and perpetuate the WW2 narrative, but the way they were produced is a problem. They feel low budget, stagey, over dramatic, slow paced and frequently utilize annoying close up camera shots of character faces. 1981's Tenko is no exception, suffering from all of the aforementioned, but there's something about Tenko that grows on you. Simply put it is the story arc and its resulting character development.The series features a very compelling cast of characters and the journey these women travel is quite remarkable; from the posh life of a British colony … to the fall of Singapore in February 1942 … through four years in Japanese POW camps … to sudden freedom and the effort to fit back into society after the most devastating war of all time … to their reunion five years later … their characters and relationships are developed magnificently.It is not an easy watch. At times it is a full on chick flick filled with dramatics, small talk and female problems. The 30 plus episodes are filled with desperation, suffering and tragedy but the journey and historical context are well worth the effort. Noteworthy is the fact the series illustrates the British colonial system in its fading glory as well as the post war power vacuum that it created (communist power grab). The series shows us an amazing and unpredictable journey of a group randomly thrown together, under the worst possible conditions. It teaches of the cruel mortality of war (note Rose's death). Finally it shows us how such an experience shape characters and friendships and life decisions for generations. It is a remarkable series! 9 of 10 stars!POST: Other films addressing the Japanese POW camps; Changi, Three Came Home, Paradise Road, The Railway Men and Unforgiven

gregoryshnly A real classic series based on true events,Tenko was a powerful series on the suffering of a group of civilian women during World War 2 when Singapore falls to the Japanese in 1942. Ann Bell plays Marion Jefferson,the bored army wife,tired of all the endless tea parties and receptions then when she is evacuated with the other women,the first real shock is her best friend Vicky(Wendy Williams)drowning,Tenko certainly got shock you with the death of a popular character when you least expected it. In the first series we met elderly but defiant Slyvia Ashburton(Renee Asherburn)who refuses initially to sleep beside Eurasian girl Christina Campbell(Emily Bolton) but gradually the woman start to see each other as people and strong friendships are formed particularly when the women build a new hut,much to the surprise of camp commandant Yamauchi(Burt Kwouk) When Cockney prostitute Blanche(one of my favourite characters)is caught escaping with Debbie(Karin Foley)whose mother has just died,the whole camp is punished with a real feud developing between the English and the Dutch,headed by the formidable Sister Ulrica(great performance by Patrica Lawrence)and the selfish Mrs Van Meyer (Elizabeth Chambers) the feud is resolved as the women work towards Blanche's release. Stephanie Beacham is great as the seemingly selfish Rose Millar with flashes of kindness underneath and her friendship with Blanche is one of the joys of the series,the aborted escape causing a real rift between the two,this is resolved when Blanche is sent back to her friends in the 2nd series after being sent to another camp at the start of series 2 along with Nurse Nellie Keane(who falls in love with Sally(Joanna Hole)in series 1,and Slyvia,Blanche informs them,that Slyvia died a month after arriving in the new camp,Nellie dies a few months before the end of the war in series 3. Series 2 to me,is the best,we meet evil Miss Hasan,(Josephine Welcome)the evil administrator at their new camp and corrupt leader Verna Johnson(Rosemary Martin)we learn at the end of series2,they both sold their red cross parcels,causing a lot of unnecessary deaths for Doctor Mason(great performance throughout by Stephanie Cole as tortured soul,Dr.Beatrice Mason) Veronica Roberts as Dorothy Bennett excels,she goes from widowed young mother to seeing her baby die,then becomes emotionally dead as she has sex with guards to get by but forms an unlikely friendship with Shinya,a Japanese guard,who has to shot Rose when she meets boyfriend Bernard,Dorothy eventually forgives him only for him to die in an allied raid. Rose dies at the end of series 2 and is very moving,as is Sally's suicide but the woman who survive carry grimly on but there are laughs too amongst the horror like putting a rat in Miss Hasan's room. Louise Jameson sadly wasn't available for series 3,so Blanche was killed off between series 2 and 3. Series 3 deals with the women adjusting to freedom and Beatrice has to cope with blindness and the end of her practising as a Doctor. The shock at the end of series 3 is the death of Joss Holbrook(wonderful Jean Anderson)worn out by 3 years of bashings and under nourishment combined with a recent mugging and the flu,she is simply worn out. Tenko Reunion deals with the women meeting up in 1950 and discovering old friend Christina is a communist traitor and they narrowly come away with their lives. A great series,very fondly remembered.

koenen-1 Tenko is the single most memorable series I have ever watched on television. Layered, engaging, challenging, compelling, it has stayed with me for years and I often think about the characters as real people...wondering how their lives continued, wondering what I would do in their company. In these times of war and prison camps, again, and as history is rewritten, forgotten, or ignored, I wish that Tenko would be replayed for a new generation to experience. The characters are unique and nuanced, the story lines complex and resolutions often unexpected yet always genuine. The actors seem to embody their roles. It is gripping and addicting. The followup documentary reuniting some of the survivors is an exquisitely touching finale, though wouldn't it be lovely to continue the series, chronicling the gap between then and now.