It’s quite the side-step from Tiger King, but everyone’s latest Netflix obsession – after bingeing on the lives of Joe Exotic et al - isUnorthodox.
If you’ve not seen it yet, the four-part series is inspired by Deborah Feldman’s book, Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots. The Netlix show tells the story of a 19-year-old Jewish woman named Esty, who runs away from her marriage in a New York Ultra-Orthodox community to Berlin, where her estranged mother lives.
It’s the first Netflix series to be primarily Yiddish and is a fascinating insight into a community that is rarely portrayed on screen. The show has hooked viewers to such an extent that the companion show, Making Unorthodox - about the creation of the show - has also garnered popularity on the streaming platform.
With that in mind, here we recommend five other shows and films you might enjoy.
Shtisel
Following the titular family, Israeli TV show, Shtisel tells the story of their lives in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood of Jerusalem as they reckon with love, loss and the doldrums of daily life. The show was originally a huge hit in its country of origin and has gained international popularity since airing on Netflix, where it can still be streamed. Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman bought the rights to the show, to create a version set in Brooklyn, called Emmis, with Amazon.
Felix and Meira
Available on Amazon Primethis film tells the story of a married Hasidic woman, who falls for an older, secular man in Montreal. The film, which was released in 2014, won Best Canadian Film at the Toronto International Film Festival that year.
One of Us
Available tostream on Netflix, this documentary looks at the secretive side of the Hasidic community and follows three people who walked away and the ostracism, anxiety and danger they face.
Fill The Void
The film, available to stream on Amazon Prime, focuses on a Haredi Jewish community in Tel Aviv and an 18-year-old girl who is pressured into marrying her older sister’s husband when her sister dies in childbirth. Directed by Rama Burshtein, it became the first film, intended for wide distribution, directed by an Orthodox Jewish woman and received critical acclaim around the time of its release.
Disobedience
Starring Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams, Disobedience is based on the book of the same name by Naomi Alderman and tells the story of a woman returning to the strict Jewish community in North London that she left, when her father dies. The film is available to stream on Amazon Prime.
READ MORE: The Best Things To Watch On Netflix In April
READ MORE: Yes, That Is Celebrity Big Brother's Chantelle Houghton In Tiger King