One of Us (2017)

One of Us: Directed by Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady. With Etty, Chani Getter, Ari Hershkowitz, Luzer Twersky. Penetrating the insular world of New York’s Hasidic community, focusing on three individuals driven to break away despite threats of retaliation.

“I just want to say first and foremost that I am in awe of the three featured individuals. Etty, Luzer, and Arye/Ari are former members of Brooklynu0026#39;s Hasidic Jewish community who, for various reasons, and out of varying degrees of excruciating horror or sadness, have chosen to leave the only community theyu0026#39;ve ever known—a community that eschews formal education, job skill-building, or co-mingling with a 21st-century secular world. In effect, by choosing to use the Internet or eat cheeseburgers or enter a public library, formerly Hasidic Jews in New York face complete isolation and ostracism.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAll three stories are heartbreaking in their own ways, and each person was heroic in their willingness to challenge and question a system that does not celebrate Americau0026#39;s u0026quot;rugged individualism.u0026quot; Itu0026#39;s no doubt hard for many of us in the secular world to grasp just how complicated it may be to confront such a world. But the real heroism is within Etty, an extraordinarily articulate woman with such steely resolve and fierce affection for her seven children by an abusive husband she barely knew before marrying. Itu0026#39;s a mystery how she became so strong, especially given what happens during the course of the film, but she deserves a standing ovation for never losing sight of her principles and her humanity.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBeautifully shot and scored, this film is a thoughtfully constructed and deeply humane exploration of the role of the American Hasidic community in the wake of the Holocaust. I hope there is a follow-up film from the same creators.”