Spoiler Alert: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Unorthodox,” steaming now on Netflix.
There’s a scene in Netflix’s limited series “Unorthodox,” which is streaming now, in which its then-17-year-old protagonist, Esther “Esty” Shapiro, a young Jewish woman from the Satmar Hassidic sect in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, stares deep into the mirror, sobbing. Esty has just been married off to a man she barely knows and, per Satmar tradition, a local woman in the community takes an electric razor to Esty’s head. Section by section, Esty’s long, auburn hair falls in feather-like clumps onto the floor. Esty, eyes possessed with dread, fights to smile through the torrent of tears. But there is no stopping them. She is married now. And she is lucky to have found a husband, to start a new life. This is just what one does.
From now on, a sheitel...
There’s a scene in Netflix’s limited series “Unorthodox,” which is streaming now, in which its then-17-year-old protagonist, Esther “Esty” Shapiro, a young Jewish woman from the Satmar Hassidic sect in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, stares deep into the mirror, sobbing. Esty has just been married off to a man she barely knows and, per Satmar tradition, a local woman in the community takes an electric razor to Esty’s head. Section by section, Esty’s long, auburn hair falls in feather-like clumps onto the floor. Esty, eyes possessed with dread, fights to smile through the torrent of tears. But there is no stopping them. She is married now. And she is lucky to have found a husband, to start a new life. This is just what one does.
From now on, a sheitel...
- 3/26/2020
- by Malina Saval
- Variety Film + TV
France’s Endemol Shine has announced the Australian sale of its hit cult-themed Israeli drama “Harem” to Australia’s Sbs.
During a keynote speech at last year’s Series Mania, Endemol Shine president Sohpie Turner Laing announced that Season 2 of the series had already been greenlit, and shooting would begin in 2019.
Inspired by cults in Israel and the world around, the series is a fictional tale of a charismatic, mystical healer named Shabtai, who lives near Tel Aviv with 20 wives and more than 40 children. Those belonging to the cult joined voluntarily, and have lived isolated themselves from society at large for more than 20 years.
When an attempt to recruit a new member of the organization goes wrong, the true extent of Shabtai’s influence is revealed once outside authorities become involved. It’s clear that beyond his reputation as a healer, teacher and guru, that Shabtai is as ruthless a...
During a keynote speech at last year’s Series Mania, Endemol Shine president Sohpie Turner Laing announced that Season 2 of the series had already been greenlit, and shooting would begin in 2019.
Inspired by cults in Israel and the world around, the series is a fictional tale of a charismatic, mystical healer named Shabtai, who lives near Tel Aviv with 20 wives and more than 40 children. Those belonging to the cult joined voluntarily, and have lived isolated themselves from society at large for more than 20 years.
When an attempt to recruit a new member of the organization goes wrong, the true extent of Shabtai’s influence is revealed once outside authorities become involved. It’s clear that beyond his reputation as a healer, teacher and guru, that Shabtai is as ruthless a...
- 3/22/2019
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Lilles, France — In a keynote conversation given by Endemol Shine president Sohpie Turner Laing at Lille’s Series Mania, it was announced that Israeli broadcaster Reshet has commissioned a second season of the hit series “Harem,” to broadcast on Reshet 13.
“Harem” featured at this year’s festival as part of the International Panorama, where Laing announced the renewal. She then explained where the series fits in the company’s big picture outlook.
“We are about supporting our creative visionaries [allowing them] to do the best work they can do around the world. The benefit of being such a strong group is that we are able to make things happen really quickly.”
She went on: “It’s working with the local heads in every country to work out what’s in their development slate, and what stories are going to resonate with audience. Our group is about how we travel shows from one country to another.
“Harem” featured at this year’s festival as part of the International Panorama, where Laing announced the renewal. She then explained where the series fits in the company’s big picture outlook.
“We are about supporting our creative visionaries [allowing them] to do the best work they can do around the world. The benefit of being such a strong group is that we are able to make things happen really quickly.”
She went on: “It’s working with the local heads in every country to work out what’s in their development slate, and what stories are going to resonate with audience. Our group is about how we travel shows from one country to another.
- 5/3/2018
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
My Lovely Sister
Directed by Marco Carmel
Israel, 2011
Grave-digging, the risen dead, a Charon-like figure transporting the recently deceased, and some particularly gothic wallpaper all sound like elements of a horror film.
That it’s not actually Charon on the river Styx en route to Hades, but instead Ben Lulu on a bicycle traversing the streets of Tel Aviv is emblematic of the genre plays at odds with one-another in Marco Carmel’s My Lovely Sister.
Ostensibly a work of magical realism, where anything of the supernatural blends seamlessly with the real world, making the two separable only by our understanding of the difference and not any visual representation, My Lovely Sister is domestic drama first, ghostly narrative second, and coming-of-age comedy third.
In true melodramatic fashion, the plot is a convoluted tangle of names, motivations and connectedness. Rahma (Evelin Hagoel) and Robert (Moshe Ivgy) are unhappily married. The source...
Directed by Marco Carmel
Israel, 2011
Grave-digging, the risen dead, a Charon-like figure transporting the recently deceased, and some particularly gothic wallpaper all sound like elements of a horror film.
That it’s not actually Charon on the river Styx en route to Hades, but instead Ben Lulu on a bicycle traversing the streets of Tel Aviv is emblematic of the genre plays at odds with one-another in Marco Carmel’s My Lovely Sister.
Ostensibly a work of magical realism, where anything of the supernatural blends seamlessly with the real world, making the two separable only by our understanding of the difference and not any visual representation, My Lovely Sister is domestic drama first, ghostly narrative second, and coming-of-age comedy third.
In true melodramatic fashion, the plot is a convoluted tangle of names, motivations and connectedness. Rahma (Evelin Hagoel) and Robert (Moshe Ivgy) are unhappily married. The source...
- 3/10/2012
- by Neal Dhand
- SoundOnSight
Two more countries, neither of which have ever won the Foreign Film Prize in Hollywood, have announced their finalists lists.
We'll take Norway first since it's less popular with Oscar (5 nominations) and because I stand humbly before you to say I was wrong. My conjecture about what might be submitted -- other than the new Joachim Trier -- was quite wobbly. The three finalists are not the biggies from the Amanda awards but Joachim Trier’s Oslo, August 31st (Oslo, 31. august) which we briefly discussed, Anne Sewitsky’s Happy, Happy (Sykt lykkelig) and Jens Lien’s Sons of Norway (Sønner av Norge). While Trier has the highest international profile, that doesn't always equate with submission choice. Happy Happy is a very frisky marital comedy (I ♥ the trailer) and Sons of Norway is a punk rock coming of age film that even features a cameo from Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten. Neither...
We'll take Norway first since it's less popular with Oscar (5 nominations) and because I stand humbly before you to say I was wrong. My conjecture about what might be submitted -- other than the new Joachim Trier -- was quite wobbly. The three finalists are not the biggies from the Amanda awards but Joachim Trier’s Oslo, August 31st (Oslo, 31. august) which we briefly discussed, Anne Sewitsky’s Happy, Happy (Sykt lykkelig) and Jens Lien’s Sons of Norway (Sønner av Norge). While Trier has the highest international profile, that doesn't always equate with submission choice. Happy Happy is a very frisky marital comedy (I ♥ the trailer) and Sons of Norway is a punk rock coming of age film that even features a cameo from Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten. Neither...
- 8/16/2011
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
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