An intergenerational family faces love, heartbreak, and more in THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF JERUSALEM, now streaming on Netflix. Courtesy of Netflix.History. Romance. Drama. Adolescence. Heartbreak. Tears. Humor. Love affairs. Music. The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem, Netflix’s new hit show and an addition to the ever-growing canon of Israeli television, has it all! Based on the best-selling book by Sarit Yishai-Levi and produced by yes Studios, Israel’s number one producer of Israeli cinema and TV, it wasn’t too long for this hit Israeli series to make its away across the globe into the homes of U.S. viewers. Netflix continues to present the best in Israeli television, from hits like Shtisel and Fauda, shows that attract not just the Jewish community but anyone looking for some incredibly binge-worthy shows. The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem may have all the bits and pieces of your usual, soapy melodrama, but it is far from sloppy. You may not like soap operas and skip out on this show, but you will miss one of the most entertaining series of the year.
With Ladino, Hebrew, Arabic, and English dialogue, The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem is a multigenerational tale of a Sephardic Jewish family, the Ermozas, from the end of the Ottoman Empire to Israel’s War of Independence. Set across different years in different locations, from Jerusalem to Beirut to New York City, the show’s three-dimensional, complex characters fight their own battles as Jerusalem evolves under different rulers and adversaries grow in size.
Perhaps the most intriguing thing about the show is how vividly it portrays the time period. What was socially accepted is disgraceful and frowned upon by today’s standards. The “rules” of the community the Ermozas live in cross the line. Jews must marry Jews or else they are cursed. To be a Sephardic Jew and fall in love with an Ashkenazi Jew is blasphemous. To be a Jew and fall in love with an Englishman or Arab is equally blasphemous. It is better to have Jewish baby boys than girls. Being anti-government puts you at risk of getting shot any day in the street. Men can be forgiven, but women cannot. Women must be modest. Wives must wash their husband’s feet. Women, young and old, may be slapped for misbehaving. All of this is considered “fine.” It is no wonder that the show’s characters have so many inner conflicts.
The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem begins in 1917 Jerusalem, close to the end of Ottoman rule. Rosa (Hila Saada), a parentless, innocent young Sephardic woman, takes care of her younger brother, Ephraim. Their older brother, who refuses to join the Turkish military, is publicly hanged for his aversion to the Turks. Cut to 1919, during the British Mandate of Palestine, we are introduced to Gabriel (Michael Aloni), the son of the town’s local market owners. One day in the store, he sees a beautiful Ashkenazi woman and is instantly smitten. Her name is Rochel (Yuval Scharf), and like a sequence from Romeo and Juliet, the two match eyes and time stands still. However, their moment is cut very short when Rosa interrupts Gabriel and his mother, Mercada (Irit Kaplan), and asks if she can work at the store.
She is hired, and Gabriel, who couldn’t care less, wanders the streets for Rochel before they passionately embrace inside the store that night. He begs his parents for their blessing in marrying an Ashkenazi Jew. His parents, on the other hand, are disgusted by his remarks, arguing that marrying Rochel, a “lewd” woman, will result in “invalid” children. Mercada, who is perhaps the most “love-to-hate” character on the series, is domineering to the core. Gabriel is absolutely a mama’s boy, and his mother knows she always wins a fight.
Cut to a few scenes later and Gabriel is at his wedding…about to marry Rosa! It is perhaps one of the most joyless weddings ever captured onscreen. Gabriel is in love with somebody else while Rosa, poor and homeless, clearly knows this and just married him for security. On their wedding night, the two of them have the most awkward sex imaginable. Gabriel believes his wife must have a son, so much so that he literally prays for it to happen during intercourse. Instead, they have a girl: Luna (Swell Ariel Or).
We now cut to 1937 and Gabriel and Rosa have two more girls, including Rachelika (Eli Steen), who plays a bigger role later in the show. During this time period, the series begins to focus more on Luna, the rebellious, feisty daughter of the family. She has a difficult relationship with her mother, and especially her uncle, Ephraim (Tom Hagi), who very much hates the British and is willing to die for his actions. On the other hand, Luna and her father understand each other more. In one particular scene, Luna is punished, and Gabriel takes her to her room to be spanked with a belt. She sits on the bed, he places a pillow on it, smacks it with his belt, and Luna pretends to scream in pain. Perhaps Gabriel is less strict with his children because he understands what it’s like to not have what you want.
After episode two, things get really crazy, but I won’t give any more spoilers. All I can do is applaud The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem for its sheer level of entertainment. Plain and simple. The show is sexy, dark, and occasionally humorous. In one scene, Rochel tells Gabriel that she has immersed herself in a mikveh. There is a short pause, and then he embraces her faster than ever, unable to control his libido. It’s a funny moment in a way that the score intensifies just as he jumps on her. The show is aware of its luridness, yet at the same time, it’s very moving. Every character has their flaws and we, the audience, understand them. We understand why Gabriel is frustrated that he can’t just be with Rochel. We understand why Rosa is such a stern mother because she has been stuck in a loveless marriage. She has a right to be unhappy! In a very shocking moment later on in the series, we especially come to sympathize with Luna’s defiance against her family. Living in this time period is tough, and everyone is just trying to be happy.
Adapted by Oded Davidoff (who also directs many of the episodes), Shlomo Moshiah, and Ester Namdar Tamam, The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem very much makes you feel like the author yourself, creating this world of drama and forbidden love. In the very first opening credits, we see what looks like a miniature model of early 20th century Jerusalem, with its huts, wells, and clotheslines. You even see someone place their hand in the shot, like they’re setting up story time. It’s a slick, deliberate move by the filmmakers. We are the readers, like birds in the sky deciding the fates of these characters. Each episode is shot very much like a book, with transitioning shots of the model town in between time periods.
If you were to attend Shabbat with the Ermozas, you may have an awkward time, but you will certainly understand their troubles. And after any episode of The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem, you absolutely want to see more of them.
The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem is now streaming on Netflix.