Morocco: Love in Times of War (Tiempos de guerra) is a Spanish language series set in the Spanish city of Melilla, Morocco, during the Rif War of the 1920s. Red Cross nurses are sent there to care for the injured soldiers. As the English title suggests, the series takes full advantage of the setting to tell many stories of love and danger.
In true telenovela fashion, this drama contains complicated love stories, stories of heroism from the soldiers, and stories of doctors and their efforts to improve medicine to save lives. It’s a perfectly chosen cauldron for lots of high emotion, and it delivers.
There are many characters in the 13 episode first season. The nurses serve under Carmen Angoloti (Alicia Borrachero). She is there under the orders of the Spanish Queen (Cuca Escribano). Carmen is one tough task master, and determined to do things her way with her hospital and her nurses. She doesn’t hesitate a second before calling the Queen or sending her a telegram when she faces opposition from the head of medical services for the army, Vicente Ruiz-Márquez (José Sacristán). Their arguments, power struggles, and differences of opinion about how things should run are endless!
Julia Ballester (Amaia Salamanca) is not a nurse, but she joins the group of nurses leaving Spain at the last minute because she wants to find her brother Pedro (Marcel Borràs) and her fiancé Andrés (Álex Gadea). She convinces Carmen to let her help out as a nurse as she trains herself on the job. She does some dangerous things in search of her brother and fiancé.
The other principle nursing roles (and love stories) fall to Pilar (Verónica Sánchez), Magdalena (Anna Moliner) and Verónica (Alicia Rubio). These women are the most well-developed characters. The best part of the series is watching their growth as they endure the hardships of war and the vicissitudes of love. Their absolute loyal friendship and love for each other is the backbone of their stories.
The minute Julia steps onto the soil of Morocco, she falls for a handsome doctor – Fidel Calderón (Álex García). He of course falls for her, too. But, as I mentioned, she’s engaged to Andrés. And Fidel is engaged to Susana (Silvia Alonso). So complicated!
The minute Pilar steps inside the hospital, she sees a familiar doctor – Luis Garcés (Cristóbal Suárez). He left her at the altar 10 years ago. She married someone else after that and is now a widow. Luis is currently married to a pregnant Raquel (Nuria Herrero). Except Raquel is lying about some important things, and Pilar and Luis are still in love. So complicated!
Magdalena is engaged to someone back in Spain, but she takes a shine to a Moroccan man, Larbi Al Hamza (Daniel Lundh). He’s a Muslim. So complicated!
One of the doctors, Guillermo (Federico Pérez Rey) falls in love with Verónica. She falls in love with Julia’s brother. So complicated!
Looking at the 100 year old medical practices makes you wonder at how far we’ve come. I suppose, 100 years from now medicine as we practice it today will be considered primitive. These doctors and nurses wore no gloves and spread blood from one victim to another. They tried to be clean, but it’s amazing everyone didn’t die from infected wounds.
The setting from 1920 gave me a laugh once, too. There’s a funny goof in a scene between two of the characters. They reach across a table to hold hands and there’s an iPhone sitting on the table.
Fidel was forward thinking. He wanted to establish field hospitals so men could be treated immediately. So many died on the trip from the front line back to the hospital. He and Carmen had to fight Vicente to prove they could save lives that way.
The forbidden relationship between a Christian and a Muslim is interesting, but the complications of it are barely discussed. If there’s a season 2, we might get a real glimpse into what that would mean to Magdalena. Here’s a behind the scenes photo of Larbi and Magdalena.
All the love stories in Morocco: Love in Times of War (Tiempos de guerra) are about heterosexual couples.
These characters need a second season, because most of their stories were left in an unsettled state. Who would end up together? How long would the war continue? Who would live and who would die? (Several characters did die during the season.) As of this writing, there is no word on a 2nd season.
The Rif War was a conflict fought from 1920 to 1927 between the colonial power Spain and the Berber tribes of the Rif mountainous region of northern Morocco. I cannot attest as to how historically accurate Morocco: Love in Times of War (Tiempos de guerra) is. How historically accurate is a telenovela expected to be? But it made a fine, dramatic setting for this story of nurses and soldiers together in a dangerous place. At the end of season 1, there were photos of real nurses who had served in Morocco, leading me to believe that some of the material in the series is based on true stories.
Morocco: Love in Times of War (Tiempos de guerra) is streaming on Netflix.
Have you watched this Spanish drama? Who was your favorite character?
29 responses to “Review: Morocco: Love in Times of War (Tiempos de guerra)”
“Morocco: Love in Times of War” is fiction, but the story is placed in a real historical context. I have not seen all 13 episodes of this drama. But I have seen the first episodes and therefore I can see that this historical drama has several serious problems.
# 1. Nurses and doctors often say that they are so busy, because sick and wounded soldiers keep coming to the hospital. They barely have time to sleep and they certainly have no time to relax.
In spite of this fact some of the leading characters find time to be alone and think about their situation and some lovers find time for romantic meetings.
This does not make any sense!
# 2. Nurses and doctors often say that they do not have enough resources to run the hospital in a decent way.
In spite of this fact the nurses always appear in a spotless uniform. The uniform is not only washed, it is also ironed (though we never see how this is done).
This does not make any sense!
# 3. Julia is not in Morocco because she cares about the patients. She is only there to look for her brother and her fiance! A very selfish motive!
# 4. Julia’s brother is arrested for assaulting an officer. Julia wants to help him: she makes a plan to smuggle him out of the hospital and put him on a boat to Spain. The plan is hopeless! She wants to transport him in an ambulance, but she dies not even know how to start it, let alone drive it!
The plan falls apart. Even if the plan had worked and if she had managed to get him to Spain, how would this have helped him? The army would still be looking for him.
Julia’s hopeless plan is simply a waste of time. When the truth about her role is discovered, nothing happens to her!
# 5. The biggest problem with this drama is the failure to address the war in which the story is placed. Spain is at war. Why? What is the reason? No one is asking this question.
The Spanish people in Melilla do not understand why some local people are shooting at the Spanish soldiers.
“How can they do this to us after all we have done for them?”
They do not understand that this is a colonial war. They do not understand that colonialism is wrong
I think at least one character in this drama should ask the question: “What are we (the Spanish army) doing here in Africa?”
The Rif war in Africa is merely used as a background to a series of complicated love stories. What a shame!
This is a telenovela. You are expecting something from the genre that it just doesn’t offer. The rest of the episodes are no more realistic than the first.
Dr Caldron, OFFICER AND THE GENTLEMAN!, great performance!, they don’t come better than this!!!. You have truly burst the SKY as an actor with this series, I am loving and dreaming of you in your absence. This series have become my addiction, no thanks to the Colonel, the Duchess, Dr Fidel, Dr Luis and of course my Captain Andres
My husband and I LOVED “Morocco”!!! PLEASE tell us: “Did Julia die in the end?” We loved this actress in “Grand Hotel”!!! With COVID-19 we are watching so many great shows every night!!! Always sad when they end : (
loved this series binged watched it all in 2 Days .got to be more series
I agree that the viewer is left wondering what the war was about. I had to Google it. As far as the rest, historical dramas can old build the story around the events but cannot portray everything in detail or there would be no point to the movie. I think most viewers understand literary license has been taken. However, after watching all the episodes I feel the portrayal of women in love and the viscious, selfishness is so untrue. It is believable that one character such as Luis’ wife would stop at no lengths to get her man. But every female character is portrayed as a person who would have no compassion for another woman…or even the man they love. It is difficult to believe a woman would want a man who has fallen in love with someone else, especially when the man makes it clear he loves the other woman. In closing, this is the last Netflix series I am watching that has an undetermined second season. It is irritating to devote hours to these stories only to find there will be no second season, no closure.
[…] Morocco: Love in Times of War is about Spanish Red Cross nurses in Morocco in the 1920s. […]
It’s a great show. No sense in whining about all the what ifs…just enjoy the show.
We loved it.
I agree David. I loved it too but I’m satisfied life is not a Disney movie, things do end unresolved or not as we want. People get so drawn into the story lines, fall in love with the characters. . They entrench themselves into the stories and they don’t want loose ends. They are the consumers and they expect to get the ending they want.
. Is it because of covid, when there are little opportunities to create real events we are replacing them with fictional ones I don’t know, but It’s like it’s a new phenomenon – one season for many will never be enough and neither will two.
Loved it, loved it, loved it!! There’s got to be a 2nd season ! !
As far as I know there was only the one season in 2017.
What episode does the iphone gaffe scene take place?
It’s been so long since I watched it. It seems like it was a later episode. Did one of the characters have a father who ran a bar/restaurant? It seems like it was in that location.
Yes the woman who paid off her baby daddy and works in the hospital kitchen. I’ll keep an eye out for it.
I want to know too! Lol.
OMG! It is not an iPhone, actually it’s a golden cigar case. Men back there used to keep their cigars inside a case in their pockets. In episode 5, you can see Fidel giving a cigar to Andres coming from his cigar case. The “iPhone” scene is in episode 6 (49:52) when Luis is sitting with Raquel in the bar.
LOL. Thank you for clearing that up. I appreciate the correction.
Could please tell me of other Movies Alex Garcia acted in?.
I love that guy to pieces!..he is the sexiest guy that ever lived. I have watched the 13 episodes more than 1000 times. I am pinning away for Alex. Just to be with him for a night is all I ask for
You can find the complete list of his work here https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1073929/
Please where can I find any of his work to buy?.(THE BRIDE).
Have you looked in the places here you usually buy DVDs? Or buy On Demand viewing?
Yes I did!. eBay and Amazon
That’s where I would have looked too. Sorry you didn’t have any luck.
My darling Andres with such Angelic look . That bad boy chaser/play Andres did not give you a chance at all with the love of your life, 2 timer JULIA!. You should have been more MACHO,more aggressive with Julia. Andres is a great kisser with terrific looks so are you!. But go learn how to KISS. Better luck in season 2 of you survived. You guys are quite young for the roles you played!. You guys will go Places. GOOD JOB!. WELL EXECUTED
Season 2 please and bring back Andre!.
So sorry!, I meant Bad Boy Chaser/Player FIDEL
Episode 6…..!. Fidel! Fidel!! Fidel!!!, how many times did I call you???. Leave Andres and Julia alone, stop confusing Julia. Go mind your business with Susanna. BAD BOY Truth be told though, you these Mediterranean guys are so good looking, great CHARMERS c
Just binged all episodes and we want more! Great show, just enjoy the story stop looking for thi gs to make sense! Love love love it!!!
I loved this series. I love all the Spanish tv and movies on Netlix. Watch with subtitles so much. Just enjoy the series. Its a movie about love during war. With solid performances and beautiful people. Lots of Spanish soap opera. Entertaining.