No Child Spared (in Hebrew, “Ha’Heder”) is a powerful and disturbing documentary currently available on Hot VOD and Next TV about what its director, Meni Philip, describes as the widespread use of corporal punishment in ultra-Orthodox (haredi) schools and yeshivot.
Philip, who grew up in the haredi community, doesn’t delve into statistics or investigations into this issue, although there have been news stories about it around the world. However, he makes a convincing case that horrifying levels of physical abuse are tolerated in this community.
Philip says he got the idea for the documentary when his brother, Nasich Katan Philip, posted about his experiences being beaten by teachers during his childhood on social media, and the post went viral, opening up a dialogue with many other survivors of this kind of abuse.
The brothers and about a dozen other young men and boys who are interviewed describe harrowing instances of suffering beatings in the classroom and of watching others being beaten. Their testimony is punctuated by childhood photos of them looking innocent and cute, which makes it easier to visualize the abuse and even harder to understand it.
“When I listened to all the stories, I realized how much the blows were only part of what happened to me there,” says Meni Philip. “I went from being not just the child that they hurt, to being the father who doesn’t see his children and doesn’t protect them… Trauma doesn’t affect everyone the same way.
“But everyone [who goes through this experience] in one way or another becomes closed to the possibility of feeling others’ [pain], if from when you’re a little child you see your friends who are abused, and you can’t help them, you have to shut yourself down. And if your friends never help you, you learn that there’s no one in the world you can depend on. That shapes people, and it creates a whole society of people like this. Parents like this, teachers like this, friends like this, rabbis like this, Knesset members like this.”
The film features a few videos of abuse, some from the US and some from Israel, where the beatings take place in state-supported schools. Philip does make the point that there are those fighting against this abuse, but based on the testimonies in the film, the opponents aren’t making much headway. At least if those who have been or are being abused see this film, they will know that someone cares about their suffering, even if no one managed to prevent it.
A very different side of the haredi world is the focus of the second season of the comedy The New Black, aka Shababnikim, which is now available (although without English titles) on Netflix, or season three, which is showing on Hot 3, Hot VOD, and Next TV throughout March.
This series focuses on three haredi goof-offs: Avinoam (Daniel Gad), the son of an Arye Deri-like politician; Meir (Israel Atias), a Mizrahi guy from a modest family; and Dov (Omer Pereleman Striks), whose wealthy Ashkenazi family lives abroad. There’s also Gedalia (Ori Laizerouvich), a brilliant and very pious scholar who is abrasive and lacks social skills, much like a haredi Sheldon Cooper, the hero of The Big Bang Theory.
Avinoam, Meir, and Dov are running a yeshiva, while Gedalia is an inspector for the Religious Affairs Ministry who threatens to cut their budget. These four are some of the funniest actors in Israel. Other stars included in the cast are Guri Alfi, Shuli Rand, Maya Landsman, Maya Wertheimer, Keren Mor, and Adi Havshush (who was just in Save the Date).
Gene Hackman's brilliant acting
Once Gene Hackman’s death was announced, I realized how much I had missed his distinctive, brilliant acting in the 20 years since he retired from the screen. He had that regular-guy look and could be playful and funny but also menacing and dramatic.
Hackman won an Oscar for his iconic performance as the relentless, brutal cop chasing a European heroin cartel operating in New York in The French Connection, a gritty ’70s movie where there aren’t really any good guys, just bad guys and worse guys. The film is available on Disney+ and Apple TV+.
Apple TV+ also features what many consider Hackman's masterpiece, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation, in which he plays a loner surveillance expert who is moved to take a stand when he suspects that a couple he is spying on is about to be murdered. The movie is heavy on paranoid atmosphere and features an incredible supporting cast, including Harrison Ford, Cindy Williams, Teri Garr, Allen Garfield, and John Cazale (who played Fredo in The Godfather movies and died very young).
Hackman was often the menacing white-collar heavy, sometimes a corporate stooge, sometimes a government agent, and you can see him in these kinds of roles in Runaway Jury on Netflix and Enemy of the State on Disney+. If you’d like to see Hackman as a stubborn military commander, try Crimson Tide and Behind Enemy Lines on Disney+.
It’s harder to find comic Hackman streaming these days, but Disney and Apple both offer Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums. Hackman plays Royal, the disgraced patriarch in this quirky family saga, with Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson, and Ben Stiller as his children and Anjelica Huston as his ex. It’s one of his best performances, showcasing every aspect of his talent, and it proves why he became a star: Once you’ve seen it, it’s impossible to imagine anyone else in his role.
Kate Hudson has been a pleasure to watch since her breakout performance in Almost Famous. Now, she is perfectly cast as the team owner’s daughter who ends up running an NBA franchise in Los Angeles in the new Netflix series Running Point.
If that setup reminds you of the HBO series Winning Time about the Los Angeles Lakers, that’s no coincidence. Portrayed in the film is the executive producer of Running Point, Jeanie Buss, who is now the president and controlling owner of the Lakers and the daughter of the late former team owner Jerry Buss.
So if you liked Winning Time, you’ll probably enjoy Running Point, although the former isn’t nearly as good.
The Running Point follows the outline of Jeanie Buss’s life as she unexpectedly takes over the team when her older brother (Justin Theroux) announces he is getting help for his crack addiction.
In the film, Buss copes with rivalry with her brothers from her father’s various marriages and girlfriends, egotistical players, and eccentric co-workers, and there is even a storyline about her mulling whether to convert to Judaism to please her Jewish fiancé, which will appeal to fans of Nobody Wants This.
Subtle it’s not, but occasionally, it’s funny. It's even appropriate viewing for Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day on March 8.