Unorthodox on Netflix: A Review
Well, Berlin seems nice. It’s the kind of place, apparently, where you can land from an international flight, stop in a hipster coffee shop with just the clothes on your back and some cash from your pawned valuables, and find yourself hitching a ride to the beach with a brand-new group of delightful diverse international friends who are falling all over themselves to help you out. That’s lovely for just about anyone; it’s amazing if you happen to also be running away from an unhappy marriage in a cloistered religious community who almost certainly sent someone to track you down. And it’s even better that these new friends are all students at the local conservatory, and you just happen to be a secret classical musical lover who has had to repress her talent in that self-same cloistered religious community.
3 comments on “Unorthodox on Netflix: A Review”
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Your points are well-taken, especially the relative ease with which she blends into her newfound community! But I never expected it to follow the book – they clearly stated that it is “inspired by” Deborah Feldman’s story. I watched the after-show segment on the filming and apparently the author was fine with all the revisions.
Any errors aside, I did learn one thing about the Satmar community that I somehow never realized, that one of their major “raison d’être” is that we Jews have done assimilation in so many cultures, and in just as many cultures we still wind up persecuted, so why bother to assimilate?! Sorta makes sense, except this particular group of Chasidim takes it, imho, way too far.
I loved the series and especially the explanatory piece afterwards.
As a Jewish woman who lived and worked in the German arts community, the TV story is believable, taken into consideration the age of the protagonist and group of friends.
I really enjoyed this series and wish it could continue. I liked the characters and wish I could see more of Esty and Yanky’s journies unfold (in different directions). Would be so nice to see the conservatory take a chance on Etsy and see her raise her child with her mother’s help and see perhaps Yanky find & nurture a real love as less of a momma’s boy.