The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem

Set in old Jerusalem under Ottoman and British rule this complex life drama gives a fascinating taste of the social, political and human context of the time through a beautifully written drama of love, death, family, sex and revolution. Also quite compelling to taste the Middle East of the past with glorious costumes and cinematography.

It was probably timely that I started watching "The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem" right before the latest war between Israel and Hamas. This series looks at life in Israel while it was still the British colony known as Mandatory Palestine. The main focus is a Sephardic family living there starting in the 1920s, going up through the '40s. Among the issues covered are the tensions between the Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jews, clashes with the Arabs, and the question of retaining one's cultural practices.

All in all a fine show. If nothing else, it should remind us that many of the problems in the region stem from the British occupation, with London drawing up the borders to benefit itself; the British authorities later acknowledged that they made a mistake by not asking the Palestinians their opinion on creating a Jewish homeland in the region.

Worth seeing.

"The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem" has now completed two seasons. It follows, thus far, three generations of a middle-class Sephardic Jewish family living through British rule and thus far extended into World War II. The individual members of the Armoza family have distinct personalities which allows a variety of storylines. Grandma Mercada (Irit Kaplan) is strong-willed and traditional. Her son, Gabriel (Michael Aloni), is weak-willed and deceptive. He's forced to marry Rosa (Hila Saada), a woman he doesn't love. Rosa has a younger brother, Ephraim (Tom Hagi) who is part of the resistance to British rule. Gabriel's first love is an Ashkenazi Jewish woman, Rochel (Yuval Scharf). Gabriel and Rosa have three daughters--Luna (Swell Ariel Or) is the beauty queen and Gabriel's favorite. Rochelita (Eli Steen) is the brainy one in the family. The Franco family is the near neighbors to the Armozas.

The series begins in the 1920s and ends with 1941. The second season continues the war years, ending around 1944. "The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem" is entertaining soap opera. It relies greatly on family members keeping secrets from another, especially Gabriel. Breakthroughs come only in unavoidable crises. Even the storyline is somewhat predictable, it does weave historical threads together in an interesting fashion. And the writing is good enough so that the characters develop clear personalities even though they don't seem to learn any life lessons along way.

I just finished watching Season 1, all 10 Episodes, on Netflix. This TV series is amazing.

In part, this series is great because of all of the great acting. It features a wonderful ensemble cast. The way the show is filmed is also key to its success.

It's a very complicated show and some degree of concentration and patience is needed to fully appreciate it. By going back and forth in time, it can be confusing but it really does make a lot of sense.

Exploration of family dynamics against the backdrop of critical historical events is the true beauty of this show.

Would recommend this to anyone who's up for something on the heavy side. There are some truly shocking moments. For those who just want a "guilty pleasure," this is not for you.

Among the best Israeli productions. The historical context is an excellent recount of Israeli history and its relationship among its communities. The storyline is a little confusing with its backlashes and jumping back and forwards and it feels too much like a soap opera, including all the ingredients of love, drama, action, and suspense.