Netflix, the original streaming service. The one that got everyone to ditch cable and switch over to this "cheaper" digital television world. Still, I feel like I never watch Netflix any more. But I've noticed they are starting to step up their game again, showing us that they have more than just Stranger Things. I'm not talking about the trash reality tv that they have been giving us as binge-able content for quarantine, like Tiger King and Love is Blind, but the more original and artistic content they are providing a platform for. There are several films and shows on Netflix that have come out recently or are coming soon that look really interesting, which is something to get excited about. I'm saying this, knowing I am not going to be talking about any of that right now since I haven't watched it yet, but I am here to share three of my Netflix favorites that everyone needs to go watch right now.

(I'll probably share my reviews of the new stuff as I get around to them because I'm really loving being a film nerd again.)

Netflix

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Unorthodox

Unorthodox is a limited series based on a memoir about a girl who rejected her Orthodox Jewish community in New York to run away to Germany. This was a story about a type of life that I would have never known existed. Still, there have been a number of reviews coming out from people who understand or feel the same way about their community.

In her old life, she was abused, lived with a toxic husband, and wasn't allowed to pursue her own interests. In her Hasidic Jew community, she was told her only purpose was to serve her husband and have babies. She chooses herself and her own happiness over the life she has always expected to live, not knowing what would happen. Going from a life that was always planned for her, from arranged marriages and high expectations from her community to not knowing where she will sleep at night.

This show dives into how she progresses into a new life with freedom and still struggles to let go of her old life, no matter how much trauma it caused her. Dealing with trauma is a large part of the story, showing the different ways people deal with their trauma. She has run away to Germany, where her ancestors were tortured and died, and she takes that very seriously. The community she grew up in placed a lot of importance in feeling their ancestors' pain. This is why they saw having babies as something important because they want to rebuild what was lost. While in Germany, she meets another girl who comes from a Jewish background, but she deals with this trauma more lightly, almost joking about the genocide as her defense mechanism. She says this line that is something like, "we're too busy defending our present to be sentimental about our past," showing how they can push past history and keep living.

This series is beautifully filmed and shows an incredible true story about a girl searching for herself in the world.

J’ai Perdu Mon Corps (I Lost My Body)

J'ai Perdu Mon Corps is a French animated film told from the point of view of a severed hand on its journey to reunite with his body. The film is made up of scenes of the hand during its travels across Paris and flashbacks of his childhood and the days leading up to the separation from his body. Nominated for the Oscar for best animated feature film, this movie is not your typical children's film or crude humor one would typically associate with the medium. This is a deeply emotional film that uses the 2D animation style to perfectly tell its story. I don't think the film would have worked as well if it was shot with real people and a CGI hand because it would have been hard to sympathize with something that looked real and grotesque.

It is more than a journey of physical reconnection, but more about the memories and connections that get our main character from point A to B. Our main character has been dealing with loss his entire life. Starting with the loss of his parents, which leads to the loss of himself. The ambitious creative child he was before his parents died is gone as we now see him as an adult with a dead-end job feeling as though he has to accept the fate he has been given. Then, after one rainy night and a long conversation with a stranger whose face he doesn't even see, he begins to find hope in a life that felt so hopeless. His story then becomes about taking control of your own fate and not just accepting the hand you're dealt as the only option. We have the choice to take the leap into the unknown and seeing where it takes us.

The film is weaved with motifs that don't seem important until the very end and become even more impactful on a second watch. It is a dense and well thought out story that is told perfectly in is 90-minute screentime. I love how the story's meaning can change depending on what details you notice or pay attention to, making it a dynamic viewing experience.

With some of the most stunning cinematography I've seen in an animated film and a soundtrack that quickly found itself on my Spotify favorites list, this movie is well worth watching. I will also recommend watching it in its original language, French, with subtitles rather than the dubbed versions; it brings all of the aspects of the film together in a beautiful way.

The Good Place

Instead of rewatching The Office for the 10th time, watch the Good Place. Nothing against The Office, it's still one of my favorite shows, but this is such a gem. I started watching it thanks to a random Netflix recommendation a few years ago. I was reluctant at first but quickly hooked.

The Good Place is a show about a girl who gets into Heaven, also known as the good place, and quickly realizes that it was a mistake, and she doesn't belong. The show follows her and three other characters in the good place as they navigate their new reality. I'm trying really hard to give a spoiler-free synopsis of the show that still sounds interesting, but y'all need to trust me and watch this show.

The Good Place is another fantastic show that's come out of the mind of Michael Schur, and if you don't know who he is, you definitely know his work. He is the mastermind behind The Office, Parks and Rec, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, so basically anything he is apart of is gold in my eyes. Something I've found to be true in all of his shows and why I keep watching them is how they get you invested in the characters more than your typical sitcom. It's not just nonstop laughs and bits, but real character development throwing them in serious situations that they have to work through. This show is the strongest testimony to that.

The Good Place is a story of ethics and moral philosophy through the lens of comedy. One of the main characters in the show is a professor of moral philosophy and acts as a guide in teaching these ethical principles in each episode. The writers deeply researched the subject in their process, giving in-depth knowledge through how the characters overcome obstacles. The comedy comes from aspects of the good place like their inability to say curse words and the absurdity of the situations the main characters end up in. The show's depth comes from the root of the problem being dealt with in the episode. When all the side journeys come together, we realize they've been exploring the same issue from different angles. That's really what ethics is. Like the most well-known ethical dilemma, the trolly problem, it's hard to say what's wrong or right because it can change based on how you look at things.

This is a story about morals and what it really means to be good. Each of the characters in this ensemble cast is so unique, and you'll fall in love with them. My favorite character is Jason, a DJ from Jacksonville, Florida, who sold fake drugs to college students and was the leader of a 60-person dance crew; that's how unique these characters are. We get these really well fleshed out characters that go through so much growth and change because that's what the show is about, people working to become better people. The idea that bad people can become good.

If you haven't given the show a chance yet because it doesn't sound like it would be any fun, just try it. It goes to places you wouldn't expect, and there are plot twists at every turn.

Hopefully, I've given you something new to check out that you wouldn't have otherwise. Let me know in the comments if there's something you're loving right now on Netflix that I need to watch or if there's something you want me to check out and talk about.

Love,
Julia Carrington

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