While it is possible that Mata Hari was not quite as guilty as she was made out to be, which is usually the case at a time of heightened fears, she was definitely playing both ends toward the middle and a very dangerous game. When a country is in danger, losing a war, threatened by an adversary, there is a tendency to look for someone or something to blame. Foreign backgrounds, different ethnicity, homosexuality or perceived low morals are seized on as proof of degeneracy which eases the conscience of the public who feel they got what they deserved.
'Mata Hari' must have been made by a feminist movement in Russia, as she was depicted as an innocent victim, used and abused by men, and finally framed as a spy by a cruel French Army interrogator out to find a scapegoat for French losses in WWI. Even her three page confession was allegedly forged. Talk about reinventing a story! Several of the real life characters killed off in shoot outs actually went on to live long and productive lives until the 1940s. Gabriel Astruc for many years was a prominent impresario who presented the Ballet Russe to Paris and built the theater in which the audience rioted when Nijinksy's Rites of spring was performed. Astruc was Mata Hari's agent for 10 years, but was hardly the lovesick doormat gofer, and far from being shot while saving Mata Hari's life during a raid on a party by French agents, he lived until 1934. Elisabeth Shragmuller had a doctorate in political science and after the end of WWI took up a position at a German University until her death from tuberculosis in 1940. Vladimir Maslow seems to have disappeared from the history books, likewise there is no mention of Ladoux killing by Maslow.
I will say the costumes and locations were gorgeous and a lot of money had been spent on the series. The International cast appeared to have acted in their own languages with English dubbing added later, which while common in Italy, is unusual for a Russian production, but I suspect the International cast was in order to sell the mini series in other countries. I did not notice the dubbing as I read the captions, but I did find the occasional American voice very grating.
I am giving the series a rating of 8 due to the unnecessary rewriting of history. The historical record was dramatic enough without the changes noted above. It would have actually been better to add an epilog briefly showing the future lives of Shragmuller and Astruc, even if it had been a few lines on the screen, rather than killing them off. Overall, the performances were excellent, in particular those of the magnificent Kesesinya Rappopport as Elizabeth Shragmuller, and Yezekal Lavarov as Costello.
'Mata Hari' must have been made by a feminist movement in Russia, as she was depicted as an innocent victim, used and abused by men, and finally framed as a spy by a cruel French Army interrogator out to find a scapegoat for French losses in WWI. Even her three page confession was allegedly forged. Talk about reinventing a story! Several of the real life characters killed off in shoot outs actually went on to live long and productive lives until the 1940s. Gabriel Astruc for many years was a prominent impresario who presented the Ballet Russe to Paris and built the theater in which the audience rioted when Nijinksy's Rites of spring was performed. Astruc was Mata Hari's agent for 10 years, but was hardly the lovesick doormat gofer, and far from being shot while saving Mata Hari's life during a raid on a party by French agents, he lived until 1934. Elisabeth Shragmuller had a doctorate in political science and after the end of WWI took up a position at a German University until her death from tuberculosis in 1940. Vladimir Maslow seems to have disappeared from the history books, likewise there is no mention of Ladoux killing by Maslow.
I will say the costumes and locations were gorgeous and a lot of money had been spent on the series. The International cast appeared to have acted in their own languages with English dubbing added later, which while common in Italy, is unusual for a Russian production, but I suspect the International cast was in order to sell the mini series in other countries. I did not notice the dubbing as I read the captions, but I did find the occasional American voice very grating.
I am giving the series a rating of 8 due to the unnecessary rewriting of history. The historical record was dramatic enough without the changes noted above. It would have actually been better to add an epilog briefly showing the future lives of Shragmuller and Astruc, even if it had been a few lines on the screen, rather than killing them off. Overall, the performances were excellent, in particular those of the magnificent Kesesinya Rappopport as Elizabeth Shragmuller, and Yezekal Lavarov as Costello.