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Baghdad Central is a political thriller that stays authentic to its war-torn narrative
“It will mean change, Iraq needs to change.”
These are the powerful words of teenager Sawsan (Leem Lubany) to her Israeli police officer father, Muhsin al-Khafaji (Waleed Zuaiter), as the country faces a great political divide with the ousting of Saddam Hussein.
I knew when I started watching “Baghdad Central”, which is based on Elliott Colla’s novel of the same title, that it was going to be heavy viewing of a similar ilk - may be more so - to “Homeland”.
With the current risk of a new war in the Middle East, it is admittedly even harder to watch.
British crime thriller
Baghdad Central premieres this week on SBS.
The 2020 series, adapted from a 2014 novel by Elliott Colla, was nominated for a Rose D’Or Award. The cast features Waleed Zuaiter, Bertie Carvel and Clara Khoury.
Baghdad 2003. Saddam Hussein has been thrown out of power and US-led Coalition forces now occupy Iraq. Muhsin Al-Khafaji, a care-worn but resilient ex-Iraqi Police Inspector no longer recognises the country that surrounds him. When his eldest and recently estranged daughter, Sawsan, goes missing he makes it his sole aim to track her down and bring her home.
Episode One:
Khafaji’s first important lead into Sawsan’s whereabouts is given to him by his younger daughter, Mrouj, who confesses that Sawsan had been earning dollars translating papers for the Coalition Authority. Mrouj also gives him the name of Sawsan’s university professor: Zubeida Rashid. But when he doorsteps her at the university, the Professor evades Khafaji’s questioning.