At first glance, While The Men Are Away is a war-era drama. It’s the 1940s, there’s a war in Europe, the Japanese have captured Singapore, the brave Aussie boys have enlisted to fight foreigners and the folks who remained in a town called Bush (a name that is deliciously on-the-nose) are keeping a stiff upper lip. In eight episodes, we watch five people whose lives become intertwined and they need to step up amidst international and personal turmoil.
This has the makings of an emotionally heavy drama, but in this series directed by Elissa Down and Monica Zanetti, the vibe is irreverent and sly, which tips it into a dramedy. Broadly, this story is about life in Australia in the 1940s, but it is a revisionist history rather than one that is historically accurate. The societal hierarchy is still dictated by race, gender, and sexuality but people have the liberty to respond or push back in ways they probably could not in reality.
Michela De Rossi as Frankie. Credit: Lisa Tomasetti
There is Frankie (Michela De Rossi), an Italian woman who is left to run the family’s apple farm when her husband supposedly enlisted. Her position is quite precarious given that “Eye-Talians” are the enemy but since she married an Australian and became Mrs. Whitmore, she is safe for now. She relies on Indigenous farmhand Kathleen (Phoebe Grainer) who has her share of problems on the Mission and Robert (Matt Testro) who is labelled a coward by the town folks for not enlisting. Nobody buys his reason that he stayed back because as a farmhand, he is considered essential resource. Joining them on the farm are inexperienced-but-eager city girls, Gwen (Max McKenna) and Esther (Jana Zvedeniuk) who are supporting the war efforts by taking on jobs usually done by men. In this case, it means making sure the apples can make it to harvest.
Life is different for women while the men are at war. Credit: Lisa Tomasetti
From the very first episode, we realise that Frankie’s husband is dead rather than shipped off to Europe and the rest of the series is spent understanding why, how, and what next. The dead man at the start is also an interesting reversal of the ‘dead woman’ trope which kick-starts numerous movies, series and podcasts.
This plot, as interesting as it is, does not take centre stage because each of the five characters are also fighting for survival in their own way, discreetly exploring their queerness and secuality, and oscillating between being themselves and adhering to societal expectations. At the start, we can infer that one of the main characters is queer from obvious and subtle clues, while another two take more risks to respond to the people they are attracted to, societal rules be damned. All these details combined propels the series forward and keeps the audience hooked.
Since While The Men Are Away is a revisionist drama, comparisons will be made to the most popular revisionist drama of our time, Bridgerton. That is inevitable but cinematically, creatively (and closer to home), it is a cross between the movie, The Dressmaker and TV series, New Gold Mountain. The bold colours, fashion and coiffured hair in While The Men Are Away is captivating – just look at the poster – as it is in The Dressmaker and the portrayal of harsh (pioneering) life is similar to New Gold Mountain.
While the Men Are Away
But While The Men Are Away carves its own niche. The dialogue is modern and quippy with nods to present day terminologies. One of the silliest scenes is when Frankie tries to buy agricultural supplies, but the retailer uses exaggerated hand gestures to explain that the war is causing “supply chain issues”. This feels like a knowing wink to the audience who probably heard this phrase repeatedly over the past few years. Similarly, the dearth of men means even 12-year boys can fill in the roles of bank tellers, postmen and marriage celebrants. Sometimes they let power get to their heads, which makes for laugh-out-loud scenes.
Yet, While The Men Are Away is not a satire. It is simply a portrayal of people whose lives have been upturned and it works because of the talented ensemble who can convince the audience to root for them both as individuals and as a loosely held unit. The breakout star here is McKenna, who shines in the role as the wide-eyed, smitten Gwen, reminisce of Erin in Derry Girls. Both characters mean well but their naivete puts them out of their depth and hilarity ensues.
Series like these highlights how there is still so many stories to tell about our collective history, and shows the value of telling the stories from various points of view and challenging preconceived ideas.
While the Men Are Away is streaming now at SBS On Demand.
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While The Men Are Away
