New series focuses on issue of sexual assault - TV time

The Man Who Wanted to Know, a new crime series about a police investigation of a series of sexual assaults around the country, will begin running on KAN 11 on May 19 at 9:30 p.m.

The issue of sexual assault has been in the news more than usual lately because of evidence that hostages held by Hamas in Gaza have been raped, and so for some viewers this series may be especially triggering. It definitely provides a reminder that any sexual assault is a life-altering trauma, even for victims who are surrounded by supportive family members and police trying to arrest the rapist in the immediate aftermath of the incident.

It’s based on a novel by the best-selling author Dror Mishani, whose books have been adapted many times all over the world. It is basically a police procedural that tells the same story from different points of view.

It opens when Mali (Einat Holland), a married mother who works at Holon City Hall, is attending what is meant to be a night of fun partying at a hotel with other staff members. Tired, she goes to her room early and is sexually assaulted by a man whose face she can’t see.

Orna (Neta Riskin of Shtisel), a dogged investigator specializing in sexual assaults, is brought in to solve the case, but she can’t get very far, since there is little evidence. Ori Laizerouvich, who is great in comedy roles such as in The New Black (aka Shababnikim), portrays a hardworking detective here.

Mali heads home with her husband, Kobi (Imri Biton), and tries to move on with her life, while he struggles and tries to find out as much as he can about the investigation, hoping to learn the identity of the suspect so he can take the law into his own hands.

Addressing psychological trauma

This storyline illustrates the complex psychological repercussions that sexual assault can have, not only for the victim but for others in her life.

After a time jump during the first episode, a similar sexual assault is committed, and an experienced detective, Avi Avraham (Moris Cohen), is brought in to run the investigation.

Cohen, who has played this character before in The Missing File, another series based on Mishani’s books, has a mournfulness and gravitas, combined with a slight air of menace – you know you don’t want to get this guy angry – that makes him perfect for playing guys on the both sides of the law. He is best known for his performance as a bouncer who gets involved in crime in the movie Our Father, by Meni Yaish.

In The Man Who Wanted to Know, Avi clashes with Orna, and the two spar over who will control the investigation, as there are soon several suspects and they need to determine whether the assaults were committed by the same assailant. It’s a well-acted crime drama with many twists and turns, and if it isn’t particularly original, it still manages to generate suspense: about whether the rapist will be caught, how the victims will heal, and what the investigation will do to the psyches of the detectives, who are super competent on the job but struggle in their personal lives.

THE RESTORED documentary Let It Be has just been released on Disney+ after many years of being unavailable, and the question for Beatles fans is: If they’ve seen the much longer documentary miniseries The Beatles: Get Back, which was directed by Peter Jackson and assembled from hundreds of hours of footage shot by Michael Lindsay-Hogg of the sessions that became the Let It Be movie, do you need to see this, too?

The answer is simple – if you’re asking that question, you’re a typical Beatles fan, and you’ve likely seen enough. Only super fans who saw Get Back will be able to watch Let It Be with fresh eyes.

When it came out, Let It Be had the reputation of being depressing, but seeing it in the early ’70s, when fans were still reeling from the Beatles’ breakup, was very different from watching it now. While there are scenes of the Fab Four bickering in Let It Be, there are also many moments of them clowning around that remind us how young they all were at that moment, despite their fame and success, and how funny and charming they were.

For those who like the Beatles but who haven’t yet seen Get Back and aren’t sure they want to spend eight hours or so watching it, Let It Be is perfect.