The Troubles, as the war of supremacy between the Protestant Irish and the Catholic Irish in North Ireland was called, has been a hotbed of extreme creativity in cinema and its various avatars generations after the conflict was over.

In Say Nothing, a nine-part series of confounding authenticity, the makers subsume the disruptive activities of characters from the Irish Republican Army in concentrated bunches, focussing on particular characters while preserving a tight hold over the larger socio-historic perspectives.

This is a remarkable achievement, bringing both the drama and history of the theme into one line of vision. At the same time, it must be said that keeping track of all the characters sprawling into nine episodes is a daunting task, as they are often played by two different actors, none of whom are known to us.

Authenticity can be quite a benign bitch. This series proves it. While I struggled...