In the face of the pretension of "Jerusalem", it is amazing how ridiculous, messy and badly written it is

Instead of an epic thriller about messianic politics, ancient traditions and a sacred city that has sunk into systemic decay, "Jerusalem" (HOT) is hardly a pale shadow of the series it could have been

Nadav Menuhin

16/05/2022

Monday, 16 May 2022, 08:33 Updated: 08:49

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Collapses under the burden of expectations.

Jerusalem (Photo: Ohad Romano)

In recent years, criminal thrillers can be found on screen almost every season - and how to put it mildly?

- They do not necessarily present the Israeli police in the most flattering light in the world.

Often the TV cops are in the gray legal realm, and sometimes even cross the shining line between what is allowed and what is forbidden - to the point of blurring the line between cops and criminals (for example in series like "Manaich" or "The Cops").

HOT's new drama, "Jerusalem," continues on this line at quite extreme levels: not only do law enforcement in the series refrain from enforcing corruption - but corruption, led by police officers, is the basis of the existing order, without which everything will collapse.

With the most sacred places for the three great monotheistic religions at stake, the danger of collapse is dramatic.

And just as the arrangement may fall apart like a tower of cards, so too does the series collapse under the burden of expectations.

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To the full article

Jerusalem (Photo: Courtesy of HOT and NEXT TV)

In the television chaos of the Old City, which contains, among others, extremist national-religious, inciting Islamists, ultra-Orthodox mobsters, and representatives of various, zealous and intriguing Christian sects - politics is buzzing, but it is only a cover.

According to "Jerusalem", religious drama is oiled by money, real estate, drugs and power struggles, which impersonate ideology and faith. Contain how much you can fool around to save this texture from itself and save the world from the madness that gathers within one square mile.

The plot is led by Amir, an experienced and complicated investigative officer in the Jewish Quarter Police - played by Doron Ben David ("Hour Zero", "Fauda"), who has previously played a corrupt policeman in the series "Manaich" - who along with his loyal staff is required to navigate The Messiahs who fill the quarter and keep quiet.

But Amir and his team do not put their hand on the plate, playing on both sides of the court to make some quiet (and some money): Much more.

As mentioned, the ultimate goal is industrial silence, neutralizing explosive events and calming the bubbling politics.

Ironically, what is criminal no one really cares about.

Unfortunately, their team includes a new and idealistic officer named Shira (Rotem Sela), who for some reason insists on investigating murders and making sure to mark films.

She is unaware of the conduct of the police around her, but her professionalism threatens to interfere with the entire corrupt system.

This idea is impressive, the attempt to produce such a diverse fabric is ambitious, and overall the potential of political-religious drama in the heart of Jerusalem is fascinating, certainly when the locations are so powerful, the design great and the raw materials full of linguistic, cultural and sociological richness.

But it has no cover: in the face of this pretense, it is amazing how ridiculous, messy, worn and badly written "Jerusalem" is.

It is full of demonstrations of overplay and unreliable language, devoid of any delicacy, and simply drowns in its own salad.

The dream cast, which features proven actors alongside surprising castings, falls apart in the face of the weak script.

The weak dialogues say the obvious and explain the plot - but no one is really heard talking like that.

Maybe so that things still sound "realistic", curses appear in almost every second sentence - but the result is almost comical, and all that is left is a clumsy recitation.

Almost all the actors are hurt by this, perhaps except for Ben-David and Makram Khoury (as the head of the Waqf who is trapped between his aspiration for silence and the pressure of the extremists), who carry the series on their backs together and separately.

The others are far from impressive.

Rotem Sela, in the lead role as a decent and determined researcher, presents a fairly generic game.

It leaves no significant impression here or there, and in any case does not transcend the general weakness of the series;

Zvika Hadar, who plays the commander of the space whose only interest is the status quo, also presents a very pale display;

Hisham Suleiman and Ala Daka, in their role as radical Islamists, find it difficult to persuade.

The rest do not accumulate enough volume in the four episodes sent to journalists.

Who owes whom?

If that's not enough, the abundance of characters and connections between them is so vast and tangled that it's hard to remember who owes whom what and why, and the viewer sinks into a headache.

Even those original scripted ideas, through which the police repeatedly manage to deal with the Torah catastrophes, fade away from this noise and end up not getting the effect they deserve.

And so, instead of an epic thriller about messianic politics, ancient traditions and a sacred city that has sunk into systemic decay, "Jerusalem" is hardly a pale shadow of the series it could have been.

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