Category Archives: Jewish Culture

2019, Acceptable for teenagers, Anti-Semitism, Attempted Rape, Attempted Suicide, Bloody scenes, Bullying, Career Competition, Conspiracy, Corrupt Military, Detective, Drama, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Father-son relations, Forensics, Jewish Culture, Mental Illness, Mild Torture, Military, Military Corruption, Military School, Mother-son relations, Murder by poison, Old-Fashioned, PBS Masterpiece Streaming, Police Politics, Portraiture, Possibly upsetting ending, Psychopath, Psychotic Attacks, Sadism, Self-harm, Spiritualist, Suspense, Vienna of 1900, Violent

Vienna Blood (2019)

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From PBS Streaming:

A student of Sigmund Freud and an Austrian detective team up to solve some of the most mysterious and deadly cases in early 1900s Vienna.

From PBS Masterpiece Streaming you can watch 6 episodes, each lasting about 45 minutes.  Each of the three stories encompasses 2 episodes.

Changes were happening in 1900s Vienna.   Oskar Reinhardt is an Austrian detective who, when the series begins, is used to old-school methods that can involve using violence against suspects.  Little by little he adapts to using the newer methods of Max Liebermann. Max is a doctor working in a hospital run by a bully that is fond of using electrotherapy.  Max, as a student of Sigmund Freud, is more attuned to using psychological methods for understanding and curing his patients.

One important theme is Vienna’s virulent  antisemitism.  Max is the eldest son of an observant Jewish family.  As a subplot, Max is engaged to one woman (a Jewess) but falls in love with one of his patients (a gentile) whom he cured using Freudian methods.

Oskar is in constant mourning over the death of his young daughter. As a result his wife has at least temporarily left him.

In each of the 3 murder cases, Oskar stands fast against the prejudices and rush to judgement of his superiors.  Similarly Max stands fast against the malpractice of his own superiors.

Be at least warned that the third story leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.

Old-fashioned and well-done drama.

2020, Acceptable for teenagers, Based on true facts, Bisexual theme, Classical musicians, Cult Brainwashing, Divorce, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Explicit sexual discussion, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Gambling, Gay theme, Good Acting, Hasidic Jews, Jewish Culture, Lesbian Theme, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Netflix Streaming, Religious Theme, Sex Scenes, Wife leaves husband, Wonderful acting, Yiddish

Unorthodox (2020)

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From IMDB:

Story of a young ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman who flees her arranged marriage and religious community to start a new life abroad.

From Netflix you can stream the 4 hour long episodes of this masterpiece.

At this point in April 2020  critics are raving about the film. For example you can find a discussion in the New York Times.  Unfortunately you must subscribe to the NYT to read full articles. From that review we read:

“Unorthodox” is loosely based on the best-selling 2012 memoir by Deborah Feldman, who left the Satmar sect of Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg and ultimately settled in Berlin.

In the film the young woman Esther Shapiro, who is called Esty, is played by the slight pixie of an actress Shira Haas.  Shira Hass is an incredible performer who presents her role to perfection. 

There are also short documentaries on the making of this film and how it strived for correct Hasidic details by hiring Hasidic men to help with the filming. Only the mink fur men’s hats are fake.

Constant switching between the past and the present, between New York and Berlin, might be a tad confusing.  Just keep in mind that the Berling portion of the film is fictional while loosely based on the memoir.

For me the most stunningly breathtaking moment in the film occurs when Esty auditions at a music school. We are talking real gooseflesh.

DO NOT MISS!

2015, Anti-Semitism, Basically Sad, Drama, German, German History, Greed, Holocaust Survivor, Jewish Culture, Personal Betrayal, Psychological Drama, Quiet, Slow, Suspense

Phoenix (2015)

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From NetFlix:

After a reconstructive facial operation, concentration-camp survivor Nelly Lenz tracks down her husband, Johnny, who believes she’s dead. Unrecognizable to Johnny, Nelly befriends him to find out whether he betrayed her to the Nazis.

On a NetFlix DVD in German with English subtitles, this slow-moving and emotionally moving film is somewhat of a mystery whose suspenseful element is what the ending could possibly be: did Johnny really betray her? Will he ever really recognize her? Will his greedy scheme succeed? Let me just say that the ending is PERFECT and quite subtle.

An adult, well-constructed, slow, sad film with just the right conclusion.

2016, Amazon Prime, Amusing banter, Comedy, Crude Talk, Drug Dealers, Drugs, Dysfunctional Lives, Explicit sex, Explicit sexual discussion, Father-son relations, Flirting, Jewish Culture, Lesbian Theme, Marital Infidelity, Mostly About Sex, Nudity, Somewhat trashy, Tennis, Vulgar, Witty dialog, Young Adults

Red Oaks (2016)

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From Amazon:

An Amazon Original Series: A coming-of-age comedy set in the “go-go” 80s about a college student enjoying a last hurrah before summer comes to an end–and the future begins.

Set in a Tennis Club for wealthy Jews, this series follow the ups and downs of David, a college student working at the club during the summer. Billed as a comedy, this series is at times more of a soap opera.

So far there is only one season with 10 episodes. You can stream the series for free with Amazon Prime.

Remember Paul Reiser who played the husband Paul Buchman in the TV series “Mad About You” which was popular in the years 1992-1999? In “Red Oaks” he plays an obnoxious and wealthy Getty, president of the country club and also David’s boss.

David’s problems are manifold and funny: His parents are loopy, he is unsure about his future, he is trying awkwardly to win a girl’s heart, his boss drives him nuts, and the list goes on.

Expect a lot of sex (lesbian, group, and other varieties), nudity, coarse language, pot smoking, another list that goes on.

Relax, possibly smoke a joint, and watch the nonsense.

2013, 2014, 2015, Acorn TV, Anti-Semitism, Australian, Bicycles, Catholic culture, Corny at times, DO NOT MISS, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Flirting, Gay theme, Homophobia, Italian culture, Japanese WWII Behavior, Jewish Culture, Love Story, Made For TV, Melodrama, Mildly Violent, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder, Optimistic, Religious Theme, Revenge, Sex Scenes, Soap Opera, Suicide, TV Series, Unmarried mother, War Veterans, Wasp Snobs, Wonderful photography, WWII

A Place To Call Home (2013)

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From Acorn TV:

An instantly irresistible saga (Wall Street Journal) brimming with secrets, passion, romance, and intrigue, A Place to Call Home explores the ties that hold families together and the betrayals that can tear them apart.

In this case Acorn’s description got it exactly right: INSTANTLY IRRESISTIBLE!

UPDATE May 2016:

Usually I hate spoilers, BUT — you at least have to know that this soap opera is destined to go on forever. Each season ends with agonizing cliff-hangers that force you onto the next season.  Unfortunately that includes season three which ends with all the characters in their own separate threads in great difficulty and with evil about to triumph. As of this update there is no season four, which makes me cry “Foul!”

Our audiologist alerted me to Acorn TV and especially to this Australian soap opera. Acorn TV shows presentations exclusively from the British commonwealth, including New Zealand and Australian. Currently Acorn TV costs $5 per month and offers a huge selection for streaming. We use ROKU to do the streaming.

Season 1 ends as a cliffhanger which sent us diving immediately into Season 2. Originally there were to be only two seasons, hence Season 2 ends happily ever after. BUT — when someone decided to do Season 3 they cleverly offer a Season 3 on Acorn TV which begins with a substitute episode for the last episode of Season 2. This rewrite ends with cliffhangers to prepare us for Season 3. Never before have I found such a maneuver. Season 1 has 13 episodes, Season 2 has 10 episodes, and Season 3 has 11 which includes the substitute final episode of Season 2.

“Schmaltz” is German for rendered chicken or goose fat. Have no doubt, this is a real soap opera with lots of schmaltzy emotions, nasty villains, noble heroes and especially heroines. If you do nothing more than just stare at the beautiful and entrancing Marta Dusseldorp (who plays the heroine Sarah Adams), you will have enjoyed yourself. Deborah Kennedy plays the best town gossip I have ever seen. All the conflicting topics are there: Catholic versus Anglican, Jews versus Gentiles, Italian workers against the upper class snobs, homophobia, veterans versus the Japanese, and the enticing list goes on. Australia is beautiful, especially in a perfect rendering of the years just after World War II.

Don’t blame me if your life is devoured by this captivating series.

DO NOT MISS!

2012, Arab Culture, Arabic, Basically Sad, Conspiracy, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Hebrew, Israeli Palestinian Conflict, Jewish Culture, Medical Theme, Military, Nudity, Sex Scenes, Terrorist Attack, Violent, Well developed plot, Wonderful acting

The Attack (2012)

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From Netflix:

An Arab Israeli physician offers assistance at the scene of a gruesome suicide bombing in Tel Aviv and then learns that the bomber was his own wife. Stunned and furious, he sets out to confront the people who encouraged her deadly decision.

To paraphrase an old saying, “One good film is worth a thousand history books”. My guess is that as you watch this marvelous film in Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles your attitude towards the events and the protagonists will change at least somewhat. Here is yet another film about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that succeeds in not choosing sides, something that is very difficult to do in a film. If nothing else you will probably sympathize with the surgeon husband of the suicide bomber, a man caught in the middle of two cultures.

Superb acting, subtly developed plot, and a thought-provoking situation make for a must-see film.

2000, Jewish Culture, Love Story, Military, Religious Theme, Suspense, Thought provoking, War

Time of Favor (2000)

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From Netflix:

Both a political-psychological drama and a love story between a passionate woman and two best friends, this profound film addresses the tense relationship between the orthodox nationalists and the military on Israel’s West Bank.

By perusing the streamable offerings from Netflix, sometimes you can find a film you might otherwise have missed. “Time of Favor” is such a film. English subtitles are available for this Israeli film which offers some insight into the Israeli culture, especially the military and orthodox cultures. Menachem, his sad friend Pini, and Michal the girl that Pini loves are an attractive and well-played trio. Without taking sides, you can appreciate more the problems with life in Israel.

Noteworthy for me, if I understand correctly, is the honorable and chaste approach to courtship. Michal’s rabbi father wants to arrange a marriage between Michal and Pini. But Michal is not attracted to Pini and instead is interested in Menachem. Menachem does not want to hurt his rejected and angry friend Pini. In one scene Menachem and Michal find a secluded spot in which to talk. Instead of touching, they project hand shadows on the wall that do the touching.

You must take the culture as it is presented in order to enjoy this film. Wikipedia offers some more details.

1990, Anti-Semitism, Based on true facts, Could Be Hard To Watch, DO NOT MISS, Gay theme, German, Human spirit, Jewish Culture, Military, Nudity, Polish, Revenge, Russian, Sex Scenes, True Story, Violent, War, WWII

Europa Europa (1990)

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From Wikipedia:

Europa Europa is a 1990 film directed by Agnieszka Holland. Its original German title is Hitlerjunge Salomon, i.e. “Hitler Youth Salomon”. It is based on the 1989 autobiography of Solomon Perel, a German Jewish boy who escaped the Holocaust by masquerading not just as a non-Jew, but as an elite “Aryan” German. The film stars Marco Hofschneider and Julie Delpy; Perel appears briefly as himself in the finale. The film is an international co-production between CCC Film and companies in France and Poland.

Hopefully you will watch both this 2 hour film and also the 3 hour film Sunshine.
Whereas “Sunshine” is an epic showing the history of Hungarian Jews during several epochs, “Europa Europa” is a true story about one Jewish teenager’s survival in the confusing changes in political alignment in Germany, Poland, and Russia between Hitler and Stalin.

WARNING: Once again (as in “Sunshine”) there will be some ugly scenes. Once such scene shows what it was like in the Jewish ghetto during WWII when the Germans either starved the Jews, or killed them outright, or sent them to concentration camps.

If this were not an autobiography I would label it as fantasy or magic realism or some such departure from reality. Yupp, the teenager, had literally unbelievable good luck. However, he survived partly because in all his reincarnations he learned to speak not only German but also Polish and Russian. Of course, he was also very resourceful. Moreover, when faced with a moral choice, he chose survival.

Watching the indoctrination of the Nazi Youth into a violent anti-Semitism was a revelation.

Despite the story’s best efforts, I will personally never believe that the German people did not know what was happening to the Jews.

Coupled with “Sunshine” I would call this film a DO NOT MISS!

1999, Anti-Semitism, Based on true facts, Could Be Hard To Watch, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Ethical struggles, Explicit sex, FilmReview, Human spirit, Hungarian history, Istvan Szabo, Jewish Culture, Love Story, Marital Infidelity, Nudity, Political statement, Rape, Revenge, Torture, Violent, Wonderful photography

Sunshine (1999)

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From Netflix:

A single actor portrays father, son and grandson in this epic historical tale that follows a Jewish family as they struggle to survive anti-Semitism, war and corruption in Hungary. Each man deals with the prevailing regime in his own way.

Istvan Szabo, the director, presents us with a wonderful three hour epic that leads us through many periods in Hungarian history: Austria-Hungary, World War I, Communism after WW I, Nazi occupation of Hungary in World War II, Pro-Stalin Communism after WW II, and finally the fall of Communism.

For a detailed account of the film see the Wikipedia article.

For those of us in Massachusetts please note that “Sunshine” was written by the director Istvan Szabo and Israel Horovitz. Horovitz is Founding Artistic Director of the Gloucester Stage Company in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Kathy and I have seen several of his plays.

Although there are too many wonderful actors to mention, clearly the film was a tour de force for Ralph Fiennes who plays parts in three generations of the family. Jennifer Ehle as Valerie Sonnenschein was strikingly beautiful.

Warning: there is one ugly scene when Fiennes as the character Adam in a concentration camp is tortured to death. Szabo makes it quite clear that the villains in this piece are not Nazis, not Germans, but HUNGARIANS who are very anti-Semitic.

Three hours may seem like a long time, but this film is worth every second.
DO NOT MISS!

2012, Arab Culture, Drama, Feel Good For All, Israeli Palestinian Conflict, Jewish Culture

The Other Son (2012)

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From Netflix:

While preparing to enter the Israeli military for his compulsory service, young Joseph Silberg learns he was accidentally switched at birth with the son of an Arab couple from the West Bank — a shocking revelation that sends both families reeling.

Joseph Silberg has been raised a Jew in Tel-Aviv. Yacine Al Bezaaz has been raised a Palestinian Arab. To keep sanity in this discussion we have to use the characters’ names because these two young men (approximately 18 years old) were switched at birth due to the panic of a scud attack.

You can imagine the reactions of hurt, anger, and confusion. For example:

  • Joseph wrestles with “Am I a Jew?”
  • Joseph’s father is Israeli military.
  • Joseph has done nothing with his life.
  • Yacine is about to enter medical school in Paris.
  • Yacine and his brother Bilal have a dream of opening a hospital for their fellow Palestinians.
  • Bilal hates Jews.
  • Yacine’s family struggles with money.

Whether it is realistic or not, the hope of this story is to watch a rapport grow between these two distraught and very loving families.

If nothing else we can see visibly the enormous difference between the lives of the Jewish occupiers and the oppressed Palestinians.

Many languages are used, but the film is basically French with a choice of subtitles.

An adult drama well worth seeing.