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“The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem” had some drama in the making.

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“The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem” had some drama in the making.

Israel’s acclaimed period drama series, “The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem” now appearing on Netflix, was intended to begin filming in Kiev back in the early part of 2020.  But it was not to be. The Pandemic put a stop to that when all the borders shut down.  It looked like the whole production would need to be stalled but as the streets of Jerusalem, Safed and Acre became quiet, due to the lockdown, and many turned to an Everygame casino login, filming in these locations became doable.

“The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem is one of the most ambitious and high budget Israeli productions to date. It was created by Shlomo Mashiach, Ester Namdar Tamam and Oded Davidoff.  The drama is set in the early/mid-20th century and is adapted from the novel by Sarit Yishai-Levi which follows a family’s story during the Ottoman Empire, followed by the British Mandate period and then the Israeli War of Independence.

The well-known American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem allowed filming in the hotel’s courtyard and bar owing to the lack of guests due to the pandemic.   The use of a nearby museum to shoot a dance party was also possible for the same reason.     Israeli actors’ schedules also became more flexible at this time, like that of Michael Aloni from “Shtisel”, Itzik Cohen from “Fauda” and Hila Saada from “Beauty and the Baker”.

Wardrobe challenges

Being forced to film locally did not initially offer any benefits to Liron Cohen, the costume designer.   For Cohen, scouting out the multitude of costumes required for this extensive family saga was extremely challenging.  Having to source costumes for all the multigenerational characters who were living through the different periods was incredibly difficult.

Cohen said “In Kiev it was all arranged that I would have access to a well-established, enormous costume archive to replicate fashions from 1919 to the 1940s. The studio there also had the advantage of a storage facility to keep the thousands of sets of clothing needed to dress 49 main characters and many, many extras.”

Cohen, a graduate in fashion design with ten years of TV and movie production work learned during her research for the film just how much of a melting pot Jerusalem was during the first part of the 20th century.  She reports that “It was a society made up of a wide range of ethnic and social groups speaking many languages – Hebrew Ladino, Arabic, English and Turkish. Each group had its own distinct style of dress, made of different fabrics and with a variety of accessories.”  She went onto say “Some immigrants also transformed themselves in their new homeland. modifying heavy, woolen clothing to match the hot climate they now found themselves in.”

Amazing discoveries

The focus of the story is on the Ermozas, a Spanish-Judeo family.  Then there is Rochel, played by Yuval Scharf, and the love of Gabriel’s life, although unattainable, who is from a strictly Orthodox Ashkenazi community. The story also includes Irgun fighters, Arabs, Turkish and British, depending on who is ruling at the time.

In spite of the challenges presented by the huge task of finding suitable clothing for each and every person for each and every time period, the search proved incredibly fascinating.  She says “The magic really began when I found the vintage community in Israel.  There are many people here of all ages, men and women, who collect and preserve vintage clothing.  We started going from place to place and person to person collecting and buying.”

Most of the shoes and clothes used in the series are original, from the 1920s, 30s and 40s.   Cohen discovered a range of stores offering vintage clothing – Kilo in Tel Aviv, Golda in Herzliya and online - Betty in Vintage Land.   Some items were from private collectors and others were from estate sales. The 19th century wedding dress that was worn by the character Rosa (Hila Saada) was found in the studio of Reuma and Yoel who incorporate vintage fabrics into the creations they make.

British officers and Hassidim

It was fairly easy to find costumes for the characters playing ultra-orthodox members of the Toldot Aharon community as they remain the same today, black and white striped outfits. Also, the costumes for the British officers were also pretty easy to find.  A company in England who reproduce ‘historically correct’ military uniforms was found.

Costumes are important to bring attention to the time or period in question.  But costumes also create a persona and it was important for Cohen to stick to the brief given to her by the director and screenwriters.   For instance, when dressing Luna Ermoza, the young beauty played by Swell Ariel Or, Cohen says “We put her in revealing outfits showing her cleavage so that her liberated, sexy, flirty personality would be emphasized.”

Cohen also says “I chose the character of Rosa to show how women’s fashions evolve”, showing the passing of time. For example, she says “In the episodes which takesplace in the 1920s her dresses have low waists and are quite shapeless.  In the 30s, her dresses have a more defined waistline and skirts are to the knees.”

The Exotic

Cohen says that for her the Lebanese belly dancer, Aishi, was her favorite character, played by Luna Mansour.  Cohen says “I love Aishi for her feminist views.  She uses her strong intuition and intelligence to navigate the male environment she inhabits.  She knows how to play the game.”  She goes on to say “Her garments come from a wider world than Rosa Ermoza, who is a housewife, and her neighbor, Victoria Franco, (Mali Levy), who takes in people’s laundry.  Aishi wears bold jewelry from India and fabrics that are exotic and silky.”

Everyone involved in the making of this series was “swept up into a Jerusalem of years gone by”.    Cohen says “All of the cast and crew related closely to one or other of the communities portrayed in the series.” Cohen herself has a Moroccan mother and a Polish father.  She says that “Everyone had a moment where they said it reminded them of their grandparents, their history or of something nostalgic.  For me though, it’s the clothing that was like a beating heart, bringing it all to life.”

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COLUMN: My 10 Best Movies of 2022

I hate to jinx it, but I’ll be the guy that will call 2022 comparatively “normal” for the film critic side of my life. Last year’s long sign and deep breath must of have went a long way. 2022 was a full calendar year of in-person screenings, film festivals, and more with little to no restrictions or delays. Thank you, vaccines! You did your job.

In 2021, work-life balance shrunk my review output here on Every Movie Has a Lesson to 67 reviews. This year, I bounced back a little bit with 77 written reviews. A few more extra pieces and vintage reviews are over on 25YL (soon to be re-branded as Film Obsessive), but I know that number could have topped 90 (and I have the unfinished drafts in Google Drive to prove it). Alas, responsibilities run high and time runs low sometimes. That challenge will both streamline in a way and continue now that I have been named an Assistant Editor at Film Obsessive. Huzzah!

One lane that didn’t slip was my co-hosting of the Cinephile Hissy Fit podcast on the Ruminations Radio Network with Phoenix film critic Will Johnson. We put out 51 episodes this year, including our first full-length film commentary track, and will reach our 100th episode in the first bit of 2023. I’m always finding new fun on different mediums like that. To dabble in another, I added TikTok to the repertoire in September and crossed 100 followers through 52 videos. I’m looking forward to more of both.

Closing a year, as usual, means getting out the scorecard and making a “10 Best” list. This one didn’t take much agony and neither will my second year of voting for the Critics Choice Awards and Hollywood Film Critic Awards and seventh year with my own Chicago Indie Critics group with many of these movies in mind. I’ve had this list up on Letterboxd and presented them on TikTok, but the homebase deserves its annual post.

(all poster images from IMP Awards, full reviews linked where possible)

MY 10 BEST MOVIES OF 2022

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1. RRR

2. Everything Everywhere All at Once

3. Blonde

4. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

5. Relative

6. The Northman

7. Good Luck to You, Leo Grande

8. Marvelous and the Black Hole

9. Devotion

10. Till

Yeah, that’s me putting a loud, gaudy three-hour special effects-filled Indian film at #1. I have zero shame in that. RRR is passionate, bold, and downright special. What sealed its place was seeing it on the big screen at the Music Box Theatre this past fall. It was the most rollicking communal theater experience of my life. A movie that can do that to hundreds of people at a time deserves some love, and I’m happy to give it mine.

For much of 2022, Everything Everywhere All at Once was the leader in the clubhouse. There’s nothing wrong with #2 and it too is something wholly unique. I’ve been in the minority on Blonde, and I don’t care. There’s too much off-the-charts artistry going on there and a stunning central Ana de Armas performance to deny what it accomplished to adapt a very difficulty book (and one that goes, if you can believe it, harder than the movie). The same goes for Robert Egger’s sumptuous and savage The Northman. How that movie and its production value is getting skipped during awards seasons is a mystery to me.

That notion of “specialness” keeps on going throughout this Top 10. Marcel the Shell With Shoes On slows things down to go places most amped-up family films don’t go nowadays. Michael Glover Smith’s Chicago-based micro-budget indie Relative had the best family drama dynamics of any movie I saw this year, including the much-heralded Everything Everywhere All at Once up at #2. Relative is followed closely by the parade of mentorship smiles and tears from Marvelous and the Black Hole. Together, Relative, Marvelous and the Black Hole, and the Emma Thompson-led Good Luck to You, Leo Grande will be three “buried treasure” movies I recommend for a long time.

As the school teacher, historical stories will always register with me, and I’m proud to include Devotion and Till in this Top 10. I said it when it came out, and I’ll say it again. I’ll watch Devotion again before I’ll watch Top Gun: Maverick, even if the planes are exponentially slower. The respectful inspiration of that story is excellent. Likewise with Till. That’s important, relevant, and reflective history that needs to be heard. Till is the kind of movie that should be shown to every middle school social studies class in the country.


THE NEXT FIFTEEN

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TURNING RED
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11. The Batman

12. Turning Red

13. Top Gun: Maverick

14. Decision to Leave

15. Avatar: The Way of Water

16. The Man Called Otto

17. The Banshees of Inisherin

18. The Inspection

19. Prey

20. Lady Chatterley’s Lover

21. Don’t Worry Darling

22. The Time Capsule

23. The Woman King

24. Fall

25. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

You can put me in the camp of calling The Batman potentially equal to the Christopher Nolan trilogy of a decade-and-change ago. Please, Warner Bros., just let Matt Reeves and company be and let him tell great Batman stories. There’s no need to thrust him into some new universe.

Plenty of film in this second list don’t need any help from me in the buzz department. Don’t Worry Darling seized every social media water cooler for a time. Turning Red is some of Pixar’s best storywriting. Avatar: The Way of Water, Top Gun: Maverick, and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish leap off their respective screens with heroics. No one on the Oscar circuit has not heard about The Banshees of Inisherin and found their places rooting for Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. The Woman King, like Till ahead of it with its piece of history, has found a solid audience also deserves a spot in a school teacher’s movie rotation. Those are easy picks.

It’s the little stuff you may not have heard of that need the boost. The twisty mystery of Decision to Leave from South Korea is very impressive and has earned the Hitchcock comparisons it’s been pinging. Lady Chatterley’s Lover on Netflix makes costume dramas sexy again. Fall and Prey had me sweating watching a laptop screen from suspense. Last, but certainly not least, one of the deepest little finds for we was the very thoughtful pseudo time-travel romance The Time Capsule. Those will be films I celebrate to anyone who will listen.


OTHER FOUR-STAR REVIEWS FROM 2022:

In alphabetical order: The Adam Project, Amongst the Ashes, Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood, Black Panther; Wakanda Forever, Breaking, Causeway, Cha Cha Real Smooth, Confess, Fletch, DC League of Super-Pets, Death on the Nile, Emily the Criminal, The Fabelmans, Foxhole, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Good Night Oppy, The Gray Man, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul, Lightyear, Press Play, The Sea Beast, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Women Talking


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20 YEAR RETROSPECTIVE: The best of the rest of 2002

In an annual series, Every Movie Has a Lesson is going to look back twenty years to revisit, relearn, and reexamine a year of cinema history to share favorites, lists, and experiences from the films of that year.


THE BEST OF THE REST OF 2002

Like I was saying in the first 20-year retrospective post of my “10 Best” of 2022, I’m going to be complete honest in acknowledging the holes in my lists. 2002 was during my first year on the job as an elementary school teacher after college. I was a mess with time, finances, and the freedom to see as many movies as I would like. Even though it’s been 20 years, I haven’t done much to fill in the gabs. In all honesty, I don’t think this was a great year to begin with, but it’s almost as if I’ve blocked 2002 out of my memories. Ha!


PERSONAL FAVORITES

Star Wars: Episode II- Attack of the Clones, The Bourne Identity, Sweet Home Alabama, Reign of Fire, Blue Crush, Star Trek: Nemesis, Lilo and Stitch, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, A Walk to Remember

You can yell at my easy-going fandom, but I don’t mind Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones. Yes, it’s the worse of the three trilogies, but I was happy to be in that world, complete with a massive Jedi lightsaber battle and a beautiful love-centered score from John Williams. Much of the same can be said for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret. It’s likely the least and weakest of its series, but never a bad place to visit. That “just happy to be there” feeling carries over into Star Trek: Nemesis as well. Screenwriter John Logan punched that Next Generation cast finale up a bit, but it’s still a weak movie.

Lilo and Stitch is a Disney movie that keeps climbing and improving the more I watch it, especially now as a father with kids. It probably should have cracked my Top 20. The same goes with The Bourne Identity. I think Paul Greengrass made the series better with his two sequels, but Doug Liman’s start is no slouch.

Turning back the clock, I realize that Sweet Home Alabama was one of the last great rom-coms of that 1990s-2000s prime. My wife has made me a fan of A Walk to Remember and I’ve always been a sucker for Nicholas Sparks adaptations. Between the romantic comedies and the matching dramas, I miss movies like those nowadays.


GUILTY PLEASURES

The Time Machine, Killing Me Softly, Austin Powers: Goldmember, Femme Fatale

I know it’s not a great adaptation (especially since reading the book in recent years), but I like the slick throwback spectacle that is The Time Machine starring Guy Pearce. That movie deserved better, but it isn’t a complete dumpster fire. I’ve always loved the Austin Powers character, but even I can see it was running out of gags by the time Austin Powers: Goldmember arrived. I’ll still laugh though. Killing Me Softly, is an awful movie, but, hot damn, if Heather Graham isn’t a dish to look it in the lost art of erotic thrillers.


REWATCH NEEDS

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Solaris, Treasure Planet, Adaptation, Igby Goes Down, About a Boy, About Schmidt

For those aforementioned reasons, my head wasn’t into enough of 2002 best movies. I saw the intent of each of these movies at the time, but they all lost me. I bet they wouldn’t now in my 40s instead of my past 20s. Probably the one I want to see again the most is About Schmidt. As they say, “Absence away makes the heart grow fonder,” and I miss talent and screen presence like Jack Nicholson.


BLINDSPOTS

Spirited Away, Welcome to Collinwood, Loving and Amazing, The Grey Zone, The Quiet American, All or Nothing, Thirteen Conversations About One Thing, Far From Heaven, City of God, 8 Mile, Frida, Monsoon Wedding, 24 Hour Party People, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Bloody Sunday, Talk to Her

Here’s the killer list that I’m ashamed of. There’s a lot of pedigree on this list of unseen movies for me from 2002. After twenty years, I’m running out of excuses other than the usual juggling of time and work-life balance as teacher and active frontline film critic.

If I had to rank where to go, I’d have to start with Spirited Away. Its greatness speaks to me the loudest and I know it will lead to a rabbit hole deep dive of Japanese animation classics. After that, especially on the art film scene, City of God is on too many top lists to continue to miss. Likewise for fellow awards darlings like Far From Heaven and Talk to Her. I’ll do better, folks. Forgive me!


OVERRATED

Red Dragon, Signs, Mr. Deeds, Chicago, Punch Drunk Love

This closing section used to be the “Still Bad” section, but I’ll soften it to “Overrated,” which I’ll admit is still a loose and overused label. The one I know I’m going to grief for from my cultured peers is Punch Drunk Love, but Adam Sandler has become poison to me. I can’t take him, which is why Mr. Deeds is here too. He does nothing for me, even when he is supposedly trying and “good.”

I mentioned this last article in the Top 20, but I think Signs has aged terribly. The shocks and thrills have gone soft for me. Red Dragon felt completely unnecessary then, and still does now when Manhunter exists just fine and with no loss of style and impact.

Put me down as one of those people that would have given all the Oscars to The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers instead of Chicago. I wouldn’t have waited until the trilogy finale. I would have showered Peter Jackson three years in a row.

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20 YEAR RETROSPECTIVE: The 10 Best Films of 2002

In an annual series, Every Movie Has a Lesson is going to look back twenty years to revisit, relearn, and reexamine a year of cinema history to share favorites, lists, and experiences from the films of that year. When measuring back as far as twenty years or more, I feel like “favorites” that have stood the test of time have aged to become some level of “best.” I feel like a bunch of those populate my reflective look back at the best of 2002.


As with every year, I need to offer a personal level of clarification when I build and justify lists like the one you’re going to read below for 2002. That challenge is that there can often be a distinct difference between a movie that is considered one of the “best,” respected and revered on technical and artistic levels, and something held dear as a personal and subjective “favorite.” I find myself torn between “bests” and “favorites” all the time, every year present or past, when creating any “10 Best” list as a credentialed film critic. Call it an occupational hazard.

NOTE: Poster images from IMP Awards


MY 10 Best Movies of 2002

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1. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

2. Catch Me If You Can

3. Minority Report

4. The Pianist

5. 25th Hour

6. Road to Perdition

7. Frailty

8. Y Tu Mama Tambien

9. Spider-Man

10. One Hour Photo 

I’m going come right out and say it. I was a mess in 2002. I was 22 and enduring my first year out of college as a school teacher. I crashed-and-burned at my first job and struggled even on my second try in the classroom. I would find my footing, but I remember not having the time, comfort, money, or freedom to see many movies in 2002. As you’ll see on the Top 20 listed on this post and in the “Best of the Rest” entries on the next one, I have a ton of blind spots and sour taste movies that need another chance with my adult eyes.

As far as this Top 10 goes, it’s mainstream heavy. With limited means 20 years ago, I chose my spots to see the big stuff more than the little stuff. Even then, I don’t have much shame in putting The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and a Steven Spielberg 1-2 punch at the top of the list. I think The Two Towers is one of those ideal middle chapters of great trilogies that raised the stakes, created conflicts, and planted seeds for a perfect conclusion. Catch Me If You Can is, to me, the most flat-out entertaining movie Spielberg has made this century. Minority Report is aging well as a solid science fiction film.

The Pianist is a crusher and deserving award-winner. Loyal followers know I’m not a “cancel culture” kind of person. If Roman Polanski made a great film (and he did), I’m going to acknowledge it (and did). Even though Spike Lee has found Oscar appreciation this past decade, I think 25th Hour is one of his top 3 best efforts. Norton’s monologue and the Peyton Fahrquar-esque ending montage is some of the best writing he’s ever done.

From the little stuff to the big stuff, the reputations and acclaim for Y Tu Mama Tambien and Spider-Man are well known, so I’ll let me “10 Best” list lift up a few hidden gems in Bill Paxton’s directorial effort Frailty starring a pre-renaissance Matthew McConaughey and quite possibly Robin Williams’ best dark performance in One Hour Photo. Both are hard watches, but utterly compelling.


THE NEXT 10

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11. Gangs of New York

12. Insomnia

13. Equilibrium

14. Unfaithful

15. Poolhall Junkies

16. Antwone Fisher

17. SIGNS

18. PANIC ROOM

19. Secretary

20. The Hours

It probably deserves a recent re-watch, but I’m at peace with Martin Scorsese’s old New York opus missing the Top 10. It’s a fine film, but muddled, too long, and conflicted in a few places. I could say the very same thing with Nolan’s Insomnia and the gun-toting action flick Equilibrium. Maybe they have aged better than I give them credit for, but they too missed the high shelf.

On this list, the movie that has aged the worst for me is Signs from M. Night Shyamalan. If this list was made in 2002, It would be a Top 5 movie, but the more I watch it, the more I’m annoyed by Shyamalan’s pretentious schtick. I’ve said it in my reviews of his films, and I’ll say it again here. The twists are all he has at this point. He writes awful dialogue around those rug pulls.

The deepest hidden gem on this list is Poolhall Junkies, which is criminally under-seen and tiptoes the obstacle course of being a sports movie, a gambling flick, and an indie dramedy. It’s become one of those movies I low-key recommend to people who need something they haven’t seen or heard of. Secretary is nearly the same, though it’s built a decent legacy (albeit a prickly one post-#MeToo) thanks to Maggie Gyllenhaal’s stardom after the film and the harsh content.

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