A look at the debut episode of "Tito and his spirit"/HOT
In recent weeks we have witnessed the gradual return of Israeli dramas to the broadcast schedules.
Although for the time being it is only a light trickle - the second season of "Hatbah" Bis and the third season of "Manaich" in Khan 11, but even in it you can see a kind of blessing rain.
First, it may mark the approaching end of the war that began on the 7th of October and took over our lives and of course also on the broadcast schedules, and secondly, the series that are airing now are those that were mostly written and filmed before the war, and they will probably be the last works for the foreseeable future that the events of Black Saturday will not take part in , and therefore provide a true escapist experience.
This is of course only an estimate, I may be wrong.
"Tito Vero Ruho" (whose debut episode aired yesterday, Tuesday, on Hot and Yodi, and tomorrow will be broadcast weekly on Hot 3) is the latest to join this trickle and also the first that can be defined as a type of comedy.
Furthermore, it is a kind of subsidiary series to "Uri Vala", the successful and award-winning comedy drama created by Dina Sanderson, Ofer Seker and Yuval Shaferman and also aired on Hot about eight years ago.
In "Tito and Ruho" Sanderson (who this time is only behind the scenes) and Sperman took the character of Chef Tsuki that we met in "Uri Valla" as Pablo Rosenberg's first dramatic role and introduced us to his world.
Tsuki, who will now be called Tito, still works as a chef, although thanks to his work on television his celebrity status has risen.
He is energetic and a bit sexist and he is in love with life like Argentines are in love with Asado, and chooses to see the good even when the world around starts to close in on him.
A healthy balance between shouting and restraint.
Maggie Ezerzer, Pablo Rosenberg and Shmulik Rosenberg, "Tito and his Spirit"/HOT
The first episode of the series opens with an event that shakes Tito's life and the entire plot: Samdar (Sarah Vino-Elad), Tito's ex-wife and the mother of his children, tries to end her life just as he is celebrating a multi-party birthday for his current and pregnant partner, Eden (Maggie Ezarzer). .
After the unsuccessful suicide attempt, and when it turns out that no one else volunteers to take care of her, Samdar, who is still suffering from deep depression, moves in with Tito and Eden, who take responsibility for her rehabilitation.
If that's not enough, Tito also faces dramas in his professional life when Maurice (Dover Kusashvili) his partner in their successful cooking show, doesn't really count him out and his restaurant is in difficulties with investors.
He relies on his brother, Ruho (Shmolik Rosenberg, Pablo's brother), who manages him to bring some order to the chaos in his life, but Ruho himself suffers from what appears to be depression and anxiety.
In short, not boring here.
"Uri Valla", in which Sanderson and Shlomo Baraba played a daughter and a father who have a special relationship that grows stronger following the death of the mother of the family, was based to a large extent on Sanderson's personal life.
It succeeded thanks to the ability of the creators to take situations that seem almost banal and reinvent them.
The opening scene of the series, in which the two eat dinner at a restaurant and play Shard, is particularly memorable for straddling the line between parental and romantic dynamics, and was just as funny as it was uncomfortable and maybe even a little repulsive.
Beyond that, even though she was dealing with loss and loneliness, she had many optimistic moments and a positive outlook on life.
After watching the first four episodes of "Tito and his Spirit" one can say that although the two series are quite different, something in the optimism and eccentricity that worked so well there - is also present here.
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Subtle and accurate portrayal.
Sarah Vino-Eled with Rosenberg, "Tito and his spirit"/HOT
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At the same time, the differences are not few.
If "Uri Vala" sometimes felt like a European romantic comedy that just happened to take place in Tel Aviv, then "Tito and his Spirit" (despite its non-Israeli name) feels much more Middle Eastern.
This is already evident in the opening scene, where Tito is on the line with Samdar sending him distress signals as he flies for life on Eden's birthday.
There is a lot of precision in this moment, which demonstrates how our reality refuses to align according to our plans and throws spinning balls at us at the points of time that least suit us.
At least on paper, Rosenberg, Ezarzer and Vino-Eled sounded to me like a trinity that could give birth to a creation with exaggerated and extreme play.
Rosenberg is admittedly the least experienced actor of this trio, but his high energy already stood out in "Uri Vala", and Ezarzer and Wino-Elad don't really need to be introduced - both are theater and television actresses known for portraying larger-than-life characters.
Happily, it turned out that the three manage to maintain a healthy balance between shouting and restraint.
Ezarzer is in her familiar territory - Eden, played by her, is a charismatic, opinionated and very hormonal woman - but it is precisely Vino-Elad who amazes in her gentle and precise portrayal of Smeder, who struggles with her desire to end her life.
The not-so-romantic triangle between them and Tito, gives rise to a host of exciting and funny scenes that present a new model of an alternative relationship where romantic love gives way to human compassion.
As in the original series, it is hard to ignore the similarity between the plot and the personal history of the actors: Rosenberg's ex-wife, Naomi Elsheich, put a summer in her life several years after they divorced, and he recreates here a kind of alternative reality version of his own life.
If you want to look for more parallels to the lives of the actors, you can also see the scene of Eden's birthday as a reference to the wedding videos of Azarzar with Kuti Sebag, which became viral thanks to the special joy of life she displayed.
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Photography adds interest to any scene.
"Tito and his spirit"/HOT
It can be said that what keeps Sanderson and Shefferman busy as creators are relationships, and therefore "Tito and his spirit" constantly examines them.
It's not just the Tito-Smeder-Eden triangle, it's also the relationship between Tito and Roho, which examines the dynamics of two brothers working together, or those of Tito and Morris, who take a fresh look at the brotherhood of men and try to see if even between two apparently straight men (Tito is always sure that we are attracted to him) There can be sexual tension.
The attempt to expand the canvas makes "Tito and his spirit" sometimes feel a bit scattered, at least in the beginning, but as the plot progresses it becomes fragmented.
One of the virtues that Sanderson and Sheparman brought with them from "Uri Vala" here as well is the photographer Guy Raz, who has rightly become one of the most sought after and decorated photographers in the industry.
Raz's camera manages to inject a lot of interest into each scene, and although the locations here are not breathtaking in any way, there is a sense of non-stop movement in each scene (just like Tito going out for a run to get some air).
It is impossible to write a review of "Tito and his spirit" without referring to the guest appearances in it, with an emphasis on the celebrities who are not actors.
In the first four episodes, we meet Miri Nebo (sports news icon) who plays Morris's (Kosashvili) rude manager in a small but accurate scene, and especially the retired newswoman Rina Mishleh, who does her baptism of fire in the game world and plays a witch named Eti.
Without going into spoilers for the rest of the series, I will only say that the scene with the participation of Mishleh is so good, that it is hard to say whether a star was discovered here or whether it is mostly brilliant writing.
Either way, it seems that the first time of success as an actress can be defined as a great success.
It is possible that "Tito and Roho" will not be able to recreate the same initial charm that was in "Uri and Ella", which arrived at a very precise moment in time (which is why it is also good that it was not awarded a second season).
But like her, the new series also has many beautiful moments that manage to combine the very funny with the very sad, and do it with the naturalness and sensitivity that have already become the hallmark of Sanderson and Sheparman.
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