Unorthodox - Netflix

[RuffleCrow]

Has anyone else seen this?

I found it incredibly moving. And really insightful because it documents a very closed community that was essentially founded through trauma. And if you've read anything about trauma, you'll know it can make people close down and live very narrow, repetitive lives. Which is what the main character is trying to free herself from.

I don't want to give any spoilers, but if you've ever wondered about the lives of Hasidic jewish people, I think they've tried to make this as accurate as possible (with added Netflix drama, of course).

I thought it was brilliant, I learnt a lot about the rituals of the Orthodox community and the actress who played Esty was superb, she had the ability to convey a lot of emotion without saying much. Well worth watching!

@Destinysdaughter glad you enjoyed it. However the drama is a portrayal of the satmar community and is not representative of the orthodox community as a whole. There are many sects and also quite a large modern orthodox contingent, where women go to university and have non jewish friends (while not using electricity on shabbat and eating kosher food).

I thought it was fantastic

I thought it was brilliant! It led me to read the book by Deborah feldman which it is based upon.

I thought it was absolutely brilliant. The young actress who’s name escapes me was incredible

Saw the series and currently reading the book it is based on, really interesting

Read the book! It's even better than the show! In fact, having read the book prior to watching Unorthodox, I found the show a bit blah... good, but blah. The book is an education and it's so moving. I really cried at the end. I found the author totally inspirational. All that said, I love the actress Shira Haas. She was wonderful in Unorthodox. She is also in another gem you can find on Netflix, Shtisel.
I absolutely love Shtisel. I'm waiting for season 3. You need a few Kleenex nearby. It's wonderful.

How did the book ending differ?

How did the book ending differ?

Forgive my indirect answer but the programme is quite a different story to the book. She didn't go to Berlin and join an orchestra, for example, while her ex and his cousin hunted her down. In reality, she became a single mother while attending Sarah Lawrence College, a liberal arts university in New York. Hers is just a different story with the stories of others thrown into the mix to create Unorthodox, the television series.

I was very excited to watch the series though (Berlin is one of my favourite cities, which helps). Don't get me wrong, I liked the series. But I found it rather 'lite'.

I have finished the book and we're 2 episodes in to the series - my husband is having a totally different experience watching the series without having read it first (IMO!). The book is brilliant, and although (so far) I think the acting is amazing, I enjoyed the book much more.....

I loved the series too, but have just finished the book and its sequel (Exodus) and agree that they are much better. The depictions of her Hasidic community in the series seem very accurate, while the story of how she leaves and her life afterwards are fictional in the series.

Another vote for Shtisel, so looking forward to the next season! Apart from just being brilliant, Michael Aloni in this (as Akiva) is mesmerising. Not in a lechy, phwoar way, just a breathtakingly beautiful young man.

If you liked Unorthodox, definitely give Shtisel a watch.

I watched Orthodox, then thanks to a suggestion on MN watched Shtisel. It's much better, more nuanced and the people more relatable, especially Akiva as mentioned above.

Unorthodox that should say.

Shtisel is wonderful, however, I've not been able to watch it for ages. netflix account on my son's ps4 is in his dad's name, ps4 is in son's room so I only get to go on it when he's at his dad's, usually at the weekend when I rarely have the time inbetween catching upon chores etc. He's going camping soon, so might have to binge watch then..agreed, Akiva is stunning to watch. It's all so subtle, I love it.

I loved shtiesel and unorthodox. I have some Hasidic family and I think you see more of their lives in Shtiesel (and second Michael Aloni comment above). Just to note that the Satmar community and other Hasidic groups existed long before the Shoah- they were not created as a reaction to it. However some people did join ultra religious groups after the Shoah due to trauma.

Shtisel - I’m gonna go against the grain here- I watch the first couple episodes and I just couldn’t get into it at all. Every scene almost, had people eating nosily, slurping and slapping (I have misophonia and sensory issues so really notice these things) - like every scene, more food! And I just couldn’t get into the storyline. Does it get better?

Agree though that UnOrthodox was brilliant.

I used to work quite closely with the Hasidic Orthodox community in Stamford Hill a few years ago in a role that meant I was able to go into their homes and community, and found it a fascinating community, and the people were all really lovely.

There is a sort of storyline in Shtisel, several different stories in fact, but it's a slow one. It's about getting to know the characters.