The Netflix show Morocco: Love in Times of War offers only a limited look at Spanish wartime nursing in the 1920s. But the Spanish series, released in the U.S. in 2018, does include one fearless nursing leader.
January 2018 – This month Netflix released to the U.S. market the first season of Morocco: Love in Times of War, a 13-episode Spanish drama about nurses setting up a hospital for wounded Spanish soldiers in the North African city of Melilla during the 1920s Rif War. The show, originally titled Tiempos de Guerra, is basically a wartime soap opera. The nurse characters seem more like nursing students, at least for a while, since they have been drawn from upper class Madrid families without much training. There is one big exception: the Duchess of Victoria, María del Carmen Angoloti y Mesa, a real person played here by Alicia Borrachero. Carmen Angoloti is an expert, all-business force of nature. She doesn’t just train and lead the inexperienced nurses under her. She also fights the military/physician power structure to establish the hospital care systems as she sees fit, arguing for the independence of nursing and not hesitating to go over the military physicians’ heads to her ally the Queen of Spain. Angoloti considers herself to be rightly in charge of the hospital and tells the lead male officer and physician as much. Yet she displays a measure of compassion, avoiding the battle-axe stereotype. So the show offers one pretty great nurse leader, reminiscent of Florence Nightingale in her determination to help wounded soldiers overseas and not let male physicians get in her way. Angoloti’s status in the aristocracy doesn’t hurt her cause, of course. As for the other nurses, they mean well and do seem to learn over time, but they are pretty deferential and overwhelmed. And the show seems more focused on their romances with soldiers and physicians. There is some resemblance to The Crimson Field, the 2014 BBC series about nurses near the front lines in World War I. This Spanish show may have a bit more current resonance: Melilla remains a part of Spain to this day, despite being located on the Moroccan coast, to Morocco’s evident displeasure. And Tiempos de Guerra was supposed to be back for at least one more season, but it doesn’t seem like that ever transpired. The show was created by Teresa Fernández-Valdés, Ramon Campos, and Gema R. Neira.
If you have seen the show, please send your thoughts to Executive Producer Teresa Fernández-Valdés. She can be reached at teresafv@bambuproducciones.com. Please copy us on your letter at letters@truthaboutnursing.org, so we know what you think. Thank you!
7 thoughts on “Tiempos de Amor”
My husband and I are enjoying this series. It was a history lesson for us as we had no idea about the Riff War.
I really liked this series and thought that it paid great homage to the nurses, pulling no punches. A bit fanciful in parts – but that’s television. Very well acted and the sets and costumes are wonderful.
We enjoyed this series! The history was new to us and reading about this it all rang true with the exception of the romances. Of course some poetic license comes with creates plots. I loved that the language was clean with the exception of the face-off of Fidel and Andres. I cringe when I hear obcenities and feel these take away from a show. It his very difficult to find Netflix shows that do not include these things. I thought the show was well done o we all and hope more will follow.
I thoroughly enjoyed this utterly addictive and compelling drama…and wasn’t there plenty of it! (perhaps too much at times pushing the plot to incredulity). Nonetheless it captured some of the reality of the complexity of relationships forged in the intense crucible of war. (although at times the dialogue failed and was repetitive)….and for those interested in history, gave a glimpse of a little known war and a colonial occupation, omitting most of the grim cruelties the Spanish inflicted (such as gas warfare) to secure the territory. It did touch however on the corruption and low morale that was rife in the army. Pity a second season never materialised…perhaps because of these uncomfortable details???
What a marvelous series. I have watched it twice but today when I wanted to watch it again with a friend, horrors, it is no longer on netflix and not eon Amazon prime either. I guess I will have to find somdwhere to buy or download it. We really enjoyed learning about the Rif war and spanish history of the time and, my, what delicious characters taught it to us. I wish schools would use good films like this one to teach history. It would be much more successful. Great series.
My husband and I are enjoying this series. It was a history lesson for us as we had no idea about the Riff War.
I really liked this series and thought that it paid great homage to the nurses, pulling no punches. A bit fanciful in parts – but that’s television. Very well acted and the sets and costumes are wonderful.
I love this series. The nurses were so brave to go and help soldiers etc, at this horrendos time.
God Bless them all. ?
What did they call the beginner nurses in training in this show? We really enjoyed this series!
We enjoyed this series! The history was new to us and reading about this it all rang true with the exception of the romances. Of course some poetic license comes with creates plots. I loved that the language was clean with the exception of the face-off of Fidel and Andres. I cringe when I hear obcenities and feel these take away from a show. It his very difficult to find Netflix shows that do not include these things. I thought the show was well done o we all and hope more will follow.
I thoroughly enjoyed this utterly addictive and compelling drama…and wasn’t there plenty of it! (perhaps too much at times pushing the plot to incredulity). Nonetheless it captured some of the reality of the complexity of relationships forged in the intense crucible of war. (although at times the dialogue failed and was repetitive)….and for those interested in history, gave a glimpse of a little known war and a colonial occupation, omitting most of the grim cruelties the Spanish inflicted (such as gas warfare) to secure the territory. It did touch however on the corruption and low morale that was rife in the army. Pity a second season never materialised…perhaps because of these uncomfortable details???
What a marvelous series. I have watched it twice but today when I wanted to watch it again with a friend, horrors, it is no longer on netflix and not eon Amazon prime either. I guess I will have to find somdwhere to buy or download it. We really enjoyed learning about the Rif war and spanish history of the time and, my, what delicious characters taught it to us. I wish schools would use good films like this one to teach history. It would be much more successful. Great series.