Shadow of Truth

Israeli response to documentary crime series about tangled cases with social overlap similar to The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst or Making a Murderer. In terms of quality and "unrealistic moments" and as a plot of the fiction, it wouldn't work simply because it´s to excessive. The biggest difference is in the structure, as only four episodes here are conceived as four views of the case of the brutal murder of a thirteen-year-old girl on school grounds. An Ukrainian guy who does not speak the language and whose working permit run out already is soon accused. The first episode is made from the point of view of investigators and everything seems clear. The second episode is made from the point of view of defence lawyers, when most of the evidence and conclusions are refuted or at least a doubt is sowed. The third episode is "conspiratorial", as there are still so many questions about the case that entire discussion forums addressing even smallest published details were founded. Consequences such as cyberbullying or individuals hungry for attention came up soon after. In the last episode we can see a "shocking twist" when years later a witness comes up with a different version of the story and... Or maybe not. The biggest snag of the series is that the creators were unable to take full advantage of the very simulating social overlap, i.e. it is not given the necessary space. A lot of different topics are mentioned, namely the rigidity of the courts, favoring security forces, the public's attitude toward immigrants as easy targets, child cruelty, and more. But it is only briefly mentioned and not "documented" as in the case of the mentioned genre standards. (19/02/2017)