World Book Day, Shakespeare’s and Satyajit Ray’s death anniversaries have all come and gone this week, and when you’re about to give in to cabin fever, there is hope. I am not going to share nature’s wonders with you this time, nor am I going to tell you to settle down with the family and watch something that makes you love them more. I am going to ask you to get the kids to watch a lovely funny, heartwarming tale of the importance of family on their own, while you explore adulting in a very different manner.
Let the kids figure out for themselves how amazing you are. And when they are laughing about what they’d do if you were not there, you grown-ups can settle down with a story of a brave young woman who leaves the restrictions of her super traditional religious sect and finds her voice.
If you’ve been to New York, I am sure you have seen Hasidic Jews with their hats and curls looking like they were living in some different time. If you are a movie buff, you may have seen the fabulous John Turturro film from 2014 called Fading Gigolo (starring John Turturro and Woody Allen, along with Sharon Stone, Sofia Vergara and Vanessa Paradis plus Liev Shreiber in a scary policeman’s role). Unorthodox is a limited series based on a real story of Deborah Feldman who shares the pain of leaving her home and escaping to Berlin to claim her roots.
What makes this series so fabulous is the fact that people who grow up with traditions are so bound by them, that they spend their lives living in their own timeless bubble, unable to break free. Esther Shapiro or Esty is a character so universal, her anguish and her need for self-expression so familiar you cannot but cry in empathy. We may not live such restricted lives, but there are many Indian traditions that could do well with a shake…
Imagine trying to understand the point of view of a young lad growing up in the same Hasidic world. What happens if you begin to question rituals, do not wish to participate in ceremonies intrinsic to your identity? The documentary One of Us follows the struggles of three young people who do not wish to follow the path set by their orthodox religious community.
But if being a man who wants to step out of the bounds set by religion is so gut-wrenching, imagine being a woman who wants to break all rules and get away from marriage just like Esty did, but on the other side of the world? Sand Storm is a fabulous look at what women who support women can do. It’s a Bedouin girl, and trust me, when you hear the line, ‘You will do as you're told!’ she becomes you and me and all of us who have heard and suffered the consequences of both falling in line or following one's dreams.
Still in the same geography, The Angel makes you wonder if peace is possible between warring nations. Last week when I watched the third season of Fauda I knew that it was skewed to telling one side of the story, but it made for a riveting watch nonetheless. The Angel makes the argument for peace in a way Messiah on Netflix does. And Messiah - although it is a fabulous show - it has received so much criticism, they were forced to stop shooting the second season.
A good spy as a saviour story makes you wonder whose side they are really on, and what makes the story so amazing that it is based on true events.
A bit tough on the heart these recommendations, no? That’s why I have scoured into the archives and found for you a Woman in Gold. If anything, I would also recommend you traveling to Vienna and visiting the Sacher cafe for the fabulous Sachertorte (you must eat in silence, savoring every mouthful) only after you have visited the Klimt museum and stood in front of his masterpiece ‘The Kiss’. Why after, you ask? Trust me, when you experience the painting, you will realise that it may be called ‘The Kiss’ but there’s no liplock. It’s overwhelmingly there and that’s the marvel you experience when the sachertorte actually touches your lips. In the film Woman In Gold, Helen Mirren, Katie Holmes and Ryan Reynolds make you sigh in the pillow you’re hugging.
I wish you could access the American Amazon Prime, and I would recommend Call Me By Your Name (starring Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer) in a flash. Besides being a fabulous adaptation of a book, the film uses a mid-shot all through the film making it at once intimate and at once a story of a young man discovering love. Why do I mention this movie? Because it’s art, and because you cannot go to Tuscany, I would like you to reach out for the noise cancellation headphones and watch Katherine Hahn travel to Marfa, Texas to discover herself. I love Dick is an Amazon Prime Original and it will make you laugh guiltily while others at home are working hard in this lockdown. It’s all about sex and love and marriage and art and yes, Kevin Bacon.
Manisha Lakhe is a poet, film critic, traveller, founder of Caferati — an online writer’s forum, hosts Mumbai’s oldest open mic, and teaches advertising, films and communication.
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