My review of Shtisel on Netflix. Israeli drama series. Highly recommended.

I never thought I would get hooked on a drama about an Orthodox Jewish family living in Geula, Jerusalem, but I am; it's totally engrossing, the script, the storylines that deal with common issues people confront, and it gives an insight into their community which one would normally not have. The series follow the lives of  the children of Rabbi Sulem Shtisel, the patriarch of the family, played by Doval'e Glickman and Rabbi of the local Yeshiva. His youngest child is Aki, played by Michael Aloni, my favourite character because he is an aspiring artist who gets constantly put down by his over-bearing religious father. At any opportunity the father belittles him, telling him that he should follow more closely the Torah, not art, and that he should get married. 

Rabbi Shtisel, Aki, Elisheva photo courtesy of Netflix

The father is friends with the matchmaker, who is instructed to find a suitable bride for Aki. He finds a nice young woman of similar age to Aki but Aki is in love with a two times widow and single mother whose child is in Aki's classroom, she is beautiful and her name is Elisheva played by Eyelet Zurer; she wants to escape Jerusalem, her tightly packed neighbourhood, and her past, and she listens to popular music on the Sabbath, so bending the rules. The widow is a complex character who is weighted down by her dead husbands, but she is also rather independent and works in a bank. Aki's father is opposed to his love for the widow, he thinks she is too problematic. Even the widow herself is not sure about going out with Aki because she is older than him.  In a particular scene in her house she removes her wig and shows Aki her grey hair, but he doesn't care. He is a dreamer, an idealist, and throughout the series you hope that he comes out of his father's shadow,  and that he builds a stronger voice for himself, makes more art, and basically that he will be able to stand up to his father and make his own way through art.

Aki has several chance encounters in Jerusalem, with firstly an art dealer who wants him to make pictures for him which he wants to sell with his own name on, which I thought was appalling.

Aki, photo courtesy of Pinterest.

Than there is Giti, played by Neta Riskin, the daughter of Rabbi Sulem Shtisel who is married to Lippe, they have five children. Lippe Weiss, played by Zohar Strauss, goes to Argentina for work but he has some sort of crisis with his religious beliefs and he disappears. Giti Weiss thinks he is gone with another woman but it seems that Lippe see pic below, went rather through an existential crisis with the orthodox way of life in Argentina and just wanted to get away from it all, basically leaving his wife to fend for herself and her children; she is proactive and inventive in ways of getting money for her family.

Giti with her children - photo courtesy of Vertigo Magazine.

Lippe Weiss photo courtesy of Netflix.

Than there is the grandmother played by Hanna Riber in season 1, while in season 2 she is now played by Lea Koening. She has been put in a care home, and gets her first TV in the room; this causes a stir with the son Rabbi Shtisel as she is not supposed to watch TV but read religious books, according to her son. The grandmother really enjoys watching TV, she has one friend inside the care home who is wealthy, swears, and is rather prickly.

Grandmother Season 1 -  photo courtesy of Netflix.

I also liked the teenage character Ruchami played by Shira Hass (who also features in Unorthodox) who is at the receiving end of her father's decision to run away in Argentina and leave his family behind; she has to cope with her mother Giti's inner conflict towards her husband, her duties as a wife, and the good name of the family. Ruchami is strong-willed, and secretly in  love with a very studious boy, but will he be right for her? Is the studious boy capable of running a family in a practical sense? He might be studious but he could be a terrible husband, not providing for his family in the future. Ruchami is trying to find a husband for herself to get away from the problems at home with her parents; she has an idealised view of marriage, she is trying to go for someone the opposite of her father. 

Ruchami with her parents photo courtesy of Pinterest.

We see the third son of the Rabbi Shtisel, Zvi Arye Shtisel and his wife Tovi Shtisel,  how being together all the time, with kids on top, can kill any love all together. They both seem more like functional cohabitants than a happy couple. 

Men and women also sleep in separate beds, there is no nudity, no bad language, it's actually refreshing to see this. Everything is done with gestures, expressions, it's a very sensitive intimate portrait of daily life and daily squabbles with each other. The struggle between secular Israel and the religious orthodox side of it, between personal aspirations and what you are expected to do by your community and your family who follow a prescribed way of life (the Haredi customs); sometimes the two don't reconcile causing inner conflict with the characters which make it really accessible and a joy to watch. Some are also more open to secular lifestyle like Aki going to art galleries, or his friend owning smart phones and playing video games online.

This is also given strength by the flash backs, for example of Giti's meeting Lippe which make the whole story line even more painful to watch. 

There are also light humorous episodes; in one we see Rabbi Shtisel asking a non orthodox woman a lot younger than him to marry him. It is meticulously done, from the dresses they wear, to the beards and the hats. They say a blessing everytime they eat or drink. First time dating between man and woman happens in public hotel lobbies.

It is really a joy to watch. I really hope there will be a third season.