Unorthodox

This is a very well made movie, breaking through the fiberglass batting insulation of the Hasidic community in Brooklyn, to help us understand the feeling we get when we walk through .

For the month I was there , not one single person of that particular costumed community said as much as a "good day" to me or even made eye contact. I felt like I was in (and in FACT I was in ) a foreign country.

I walked for miles and miles almost every day trying to understand what was giving me this feeling of being a complete alien... I've never been in a community like it in my life before.

It slowly dawned on me that this was the way the culture operates, outsiders are outsiders and there's no way they'll be allowed in.

As I got to the peripheries , close to Prospect Park, the oppressive weight started to lift as the Latino and Italian neighbourhoods smiled back at me and straightened me up.

How can two cultures be so different when they are so close together?

The story told in this series, about a young girl trying to escape the strictures of an arranged marriage, sounds as though it could apply to any of the young Jewish girls I saw pushing strollers with two or three kids hanging on to their apron strings.

It's hard not to be taken aback at the depth of control and the level of obedience imposed on both the men and the women of this sect but it obviously works for most of them, as the community seems to thrive.(Just look at the Amish Community if you want a reference point)

The acting is just superb and the director manages to evoke sympathy for the naive husband who, in a way, is trapped in the same unhappiness. The girl who plays the lead (Esty) is a wonderful actress who is able to go from beautiful young bride to-be, to a dowdy potential baby factory and back to a free young woman again and she does it convincingly.

The rest of the cast draws us in to the culture in a way that could never happen in real life but in the end you're no closer to understanding why it continues to be so different.

I really enjoyed the story and the portrayals, it has a bittersweet ending and I felt better for having watched it.

Unorthodox is literally spellbinding. When I started the first episode, I had to watch them all, on the spot. I couldn't tear myself away. That never happens. Shira Haas plays Esty, and she is simply amazing. This story sheds light on the mysterious orthodox Jewish tribes or communities in what must be quite a realistic manner. It's fascinating, but viewers quickly identify with Esty's feelings of being smothered and of not belonging. One thing the film did so very well was bringing the viewer to see what it was like for Esty to experience so many things we take for granted, for the first time, and how those experiences captivate her and make us feel quite lucky to have access to them without a second thought. At the same time, I felt for the community, her tribe... they are different, but that's life. The only thing they are guilty of is making it too difficult for those wishing to leave. I haven't read the book the film is based on but I will now.

This movie is a must watch, it shows how far we have come, how far we can go. I binge watched but there were times that I just had to pause and get air for sometime coz it's intense and it's surreal despite being so rooted in reality. Every single cast member were complex and had an arch, it was amazing really. I'm glad they y didn't dumb it down for us (outsiders of the community). Me pausing the show, to find out meanings of words and rituals didn't spoil my experience of the show but enriched it. There were moments I recoiled, moments I sympathized, moments I cried, but in the end I was touched by beautiful cinematic experience.

The subject may not attract everybody, but the story is actually universal. The struggle of the main character can be applied to every religious or closed society, actually it applies to every community. The series are well done and fast paced, it kept me focused for almost four hours. Thought provoking and emotional at the same time. The main actress is just superb. Highly recommended.

As Deborah Feldman said in the Making of Unorthodox, the languages spoken may be foreign to some, but the happenings within the story line are universally understood.

Completely underrated.