Netflix’s One of Us, about three young people trying to make their way in life after leaving Hasidic Judaism behind, is laden with a familiar sadness and longing. Co-directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady also made the 2006 documentary Jesus Camp, which looked inside a charismatic Christian summer camp for young people, but One of Us takes a different tack in its examination of an insular religious community (and one that’s particularly impenetrable to outsiders).
Instead of talking to the true believers, Ewing and Grady follow the questioners. The revelations in One of Us are two-pronged: They uncover much about the Hasidic community, while also more broadly exposing how insular groups keep people in and everyone else out. It’s hard to leave, even when staying feels just as impossible. (Here’s our review.)
”’One of Us’ is so strong as-is that its more harrowing sections — particularly Ari’s account of his childhood suffering and the details of Etty’s fight for freedom — are so already hard to watch that you might want to turn away.” Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com
Release date: October 20, 2017
Streaming on: Netflix
Metacritic score: 78 out of 100
Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?
Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple of big issues with relying on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on:
First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.
Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. And we can’t do that if we have a paywall.
So even though advertising is still our biggest source of revenue, we also seek grants and reader support. (And no matter how our work is funded, we have strict guidelines on editorial independence.)
If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today? Any amount helps.
Yes, I'll give $5/month
Yes, I'll give $5/month
We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and
Google Pay. You can also contribute via