“One of Us” is a new documentary on Netflix that looks at the lives of three formerly Hasidic Jews as they try and break from the community. The documentary begins with Etty, a mother of seven who has recently left her abusive husband. When we meet Etty she is ostracized from the Hasidic community and is faced with the possibility of losing her children. Ari, another former Hasidic Jew, is attempting to leave the community at the young age of eighteen, and through his struggle to understand the world outside the Hasidic community, Ari falls into the world of drug addiction. The film also follows Luzer, who left the community years ago and is trying to make it as an actor in Los Angeles, but still struggles with loss of his friends and family after he left the Hasidic community. All three struggle with the loss of everything they have known as they attempt to move away from the insular religious community.
The Hasidic community is extremely insular. Before watching the documentary, the most I knew about the community is that I would sometimes see Hasidic families walking among the hipsters when I went to Brooklyn. The Hasidic movement began in the mid 18th century in Eastern Europe and is an ultra-orthodox religious group. During and after World War II, Hasidic people spread, leaving Eastern Europe for Israel and America. In America, specifically New York City, Hasidic people have developed a tightly knit community. Making their own schools, hospitals, and other institutions.
The people in the documentary describe how closed off the community is, saying that they were taught that people who are not Hasidic hate them. The film highlights the extreme closeness and power of the community. Throughout the film Etty, for example, is fighting to keep custody of her children, but her ex-husband and other members of the Hasidic community their power and reach to fight back, attempting to keep the children in the Hasidic community. For the people in the documentary leaving is not easy. It takes an extreme amount of strength and courage for these individuals to give up everything they have known to leave such a tight knit community where they feel that they don’t belong in or believe in. The documentary sheds light on the insular nature of the Hasidic community, but also comments of the nature on all insular religious communities and the difficulties faced by those trying to leave.