Israel-Hamas war doc. and more hit Israeli TV, streaming

They say that journalism is the first draft of history, and even as the war continues, we are seeing the release of documentaries about the October 7 massacre and the early days of the hostage crisis. The newest one is Until They Return, a documentary from KAN 11, which aired on January 14 to mark 100 days since the outbreak of war, and which is now available on its website, Kan.org.il

Until They Return is a look at the early days of the war, when Israel suddenly found itself mired in the chaos of identifying over 1,000 bodies and figuring out exactly who was dead and who was kidnapped into Gaza by Hamas. I hadn’t recalled quite how frightening and upsetting that period was until I watched this, which shows frantic families shedding tears of frustration as they speak on the news about how no one from the government has contacted them about the fate of their loved ones.

The film details how the hostage families and dedicated volunteers were able to create Hostage Square, a center of protest, information, and support, near the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv. We already take its existence as a given, but it is interesting to see how people pulled it together at lightning speed, and how it was a response to government neglect.

Much of the film follows the family members of an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor, Yaffa Adar, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and released in late November. We are with them during the horrible moments when they have just learned of her abduction due to Hamas broadcasting video of her being brought to Gaza, and we watch their fight to get her returned. They also fight for information about Yaffa’s grandson, Tamir, who was believed to have been kidnapped but later revealed to be among the murdered. It’s one heartbreaking story among many, and your heart goes out to them and to all the other hostage families.

Lighter TV viewings in Israel

IF YOU’RE looking for lighter viewing, the series known in Israel as Shababnikim has been released on Netflix with the title The New Black. It’s Israeli television at its irreverent best, as it focuses on some not very pious Jerusalem yeshiva students who try to work every angle and often find themselves in trouble. Created by Eliran Malka and Daniel Paran, it features Ori Laizerouvich as the one straight arrow in the group, while the others are played by Daniel Gad, Omer Perelman Striks, and Israel Attias. There’s a reason it has been called “Entourage in Black Hats,” and that’s because it’s so funny. If you were hoping to see it with English subtitles, however, you’ll be disappointed because they are not available on the Israeli Netflix version.

TRUE DETECTIVE, the crime series that, to quote a line from Annie Hall, achieves “total heavyosity” in every scene, has just started its fourth season, which is available currently on Hot HBO, Hot VOD and Sting TV, with new episodes released on Mondays at 10 p.m., and on YesVOD and on Cellcom TV. It will be shown on Yes TV Action on Thursdays at 10 p.m. starting on February 1. Each season is separate, but each features moody, cynical detectives investigating gory, senseless crimes in out-of-the-way locations, with big stars trotting out their grimmest facial expressions.

Jodie Foster is the top name in the new season, and it’s nice to have her back in this, just as it was to see her a couple of months ago in a supporting role in Nyad.

Foster plays Liz, a detective in a small town in Alaska, raising an unruly lesbian daughter on her own, who is investigating the disappearance of the entire crew of a research station. They left everything behind, and were lured out as they watched a DVD of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – like previous seasons, it features a lot of pop music and ironic pop culture references. The one thing they leave behind is a tongue with no body.

As Liz works the case, she teams up with Evangeline (Kali Reis), a poker-faced state trooper who cares for her troubled sister, and once got into trouble on a case involving the murder of an indigenous anti-mining activist whose tongue was cut. Other characters include Liz’s deputy, played by John Hawkes (Everest, Winter’s Bone), and a woman – portrayed by Fiona Shaw, who was Aunt Petunia in the Harry Potter series – who lives off the land and skins animals in the snow.

The new season is anchored by a trippy credit sequence which recalls that truly scary French zombie series, Les Revenants. The snowbound setting is appropriate to the mood, but be forewarned that there is quite a bit of gore on display, and that the pacing is often a bit glacial. But you can certainly enjoy the landscape.

THE NEW movie by Emerald Fennell, Saltburn, is available in Israel on Amazon Prime Video, and though the movie, which has played in theaters around the world, has generated some Oscar buzz, ultimately it’s a disappointment.

It plays like Brideshead Revisited meets The Talented Mr. Ripley, which, at first glance, might sound like an astonishing combination. I also had high hopes because Fennell’s debut feature as a director, Promising Young Woman, had some nice Hitchcockian twists, even if it was ultimately a bit heavy-handed. Fennell is also an actress, best known for playing Camilla Parker-Bowles in the middle two seasons of The Crown.

But while combining the themes behind novels by Evelyn Waugh and Patricia Highsmith certainly had potential, and while Saltburn features an all-star cast and amazing production design – lots of eye candy – it will fail to engage you, because Fennell leaves out the main reason why anyone remembers Brideshead and Ripley: characters you care about, even come to love, in spite of all their flaws.

The first half of Saltburn is mostly Brideshead Revisited revisited, as it tells the story of Oliver (Barry Keoghan of The Banshees of Inishirin), a brilliant, highly motivated Oxford student from a modest background, who is drawn into the orbit of Felix (Jacob Elordi, who plays Elvis in the upcoming film Priscilla, which gives you an idea of his star quality), a gorgeous, charismatic student from a wealthy, aristocratic family, which lives on a huge estate called Saltburn.

Oliver confides in Felix that his parents are hopeless drug addicts, and Felix takes him under his wing, bringing him into his family circle. Oliver harbors a mostly unacknowledged crush on Felix but is also drawn to his sexy sister, just like in Brideshead. But you’ll see the twists coming a mile ahead as rivalries among the family’s protégés smolder, and eventually, at an elaborate party, an act of heavily foreshadowed violence takes place.

But while Felix’s family is eccentric and self-centered, the only one who really makes an impression is Rosamund Pike, as Felix’s mother, who likes to boast about her days as a muse to rock stars.

The best thing that I can say about this overhyped movie is that it made me nostalgic for the original adaptation of Brideshead, from 1981, which is available on Amazon Prime outside of Israel, and which stars Jeremy Irons, Anthony Andrews, and Sir Laurence Olivier. Watch it if you can find it.