Transcript [00:00] This week on the Jerusalem playlist, [00:02] >> I'm just back from the Hifa [00:03] International Film Festival where I got [00:05] to see an Israeli and an Iranian sing [00:07] together on stage. [00:09] >> And we're going to explore a different [00:11] light to Facebook with part two of The [00:14] Social Network, The Social Reckoning. [00:16] >> And from sequel to Trilogy, part three [00:19] of the popular matchmaking movies has [00:22] just opened. It's about Hardy [00:23] matchmakers [music] [00:24] >> and with a very famous American [00:27] celebrity who's in that. All that and [00:29] more right now on the Jerusalem [00:31] playlist. [00:36] >> Hey Hannah, how are you doing? Welcome [00:38] back. We've been we've been away for [00:40] quite a while and you've also been away [00:41] from the center of the country. [00:43] >> Yes. So I've been I've been in Hifa at [00:45] the 42nd Hifa International Film [00:48] Festival which was really nice and [00:51] everyone should go to Hifa when they [00:53] can. So [00:54] >> it's definitely a definitely a city to [00:56] visit. But before we do that, we are [00:58] going to head head north but in a a bit [01:00] further north because I mean Lebanon is [01:03] a country that doesn't always have the [01:05] best relations with Israel. But I think [01:07] when FA came out, which was something [01:09] that a lot of our audience was very [01:11] interested in, it was like the most [01:14] watched show at the time in on Netflix. [01:17] And then FA also did well across the [01:20] Arab world. [01:22] >> That's right. the FA, which is about an [01:25] Israeli counterterrorism unit. It was in [01:28] the top 10 the week that it the the [01:31] first week after it was released in [01:33] about a month ago, it was in the top 10 [01:35] in 42 countries and it was number one in [01:38] two countries, Israel and Lebanon, which [01:41] as you said doesn't have any diplomatic [01:43] relations with Israel. [01:46] >> Yeah. And it's it's a bit weird. I mean, [01:48] I saw I saw how people were responding [01:51] to it and not everyone is a fan, [01:56] >> you know, they they're they may not all [01:58] be fans, but apparently a lot of them [02:00] are watching it. You know, it because, [02:03] you know, Netflix is considered reliable [02:06] when it comes to their their ratings [02:08] that they release. So, I you know, I [02:11] think that a lot of people in Lebanon [02:13] were just first of all, they're [02:15] interested. Second of all, this season [02:17] is about the aftermath of October 7th [02:21] and and it's there two episodes devoted [02:23] to the massacre itself. And I think that [02:26] a lot of people in Lebanon are, you [02:28] know, under no illusions about Hamas [02:31] being the good guys, you know, because [02:33] they've had to deal with Hezbollah. And [02:34] I think that they are interested to see [02:37] the show, you know. [02:39] >> So, you know, it's not, as some people [02:42] might be saying, it's not propaganda per [02:44] se. Well, I mean, it's a story about [02:47] Israeli commandos searching for some of [02:50] the people who were responsible for the [02:52] Hamas massacre. It starts out 2 years [02:56] after the after October 7th and and so [03:00] some of these uh these Hamas fighters [03:03] are in Europe and so they start hunting [03:06] them down in Europe. Now, you know, [03:08] apparently that's really been going on. [03:11] I mean, there have been reports about [03:12] that, but there's no controversy that [03:14] Israel is is is looking for the people [03:18] who who were responsible for the the, [03:21] you know, the Hamas massacre. They're [03:22] looking for those terrorists. They're [03:24] taking them out. And if they can find [03:25] some in Europe, they will. So, I I think [03:28] if it's just, you know, telling a story, [03:30] it's it's not really propaganda. [03:32] >> FA is crossing borders on Netflix. But [03:35] next, back to where you were in in Kyifa [03:38] because the next story is about a woman [03:40] who basically crossed borders in person. [03:43] She's from Iran and last week she was on [03:46] stage in Kyifa. So who was this who was [03:49] performing in Hyifa that everyone was [03:51] talking about the Hyif festival opening? [03:54] >> Well, the the the Hifer Festival is [03:56] always has a a a big opening with a lot [03:58] of music, a lot of live music. That's [04:01] one of the reasons that people go. And [04:03] then they they were telling me we're [04:04] having a special guest this year. [04:06] They're being a bit mysterious about it. [04:08] And then it turned out to be Gola. Her [04:11] that's her stage name. She's an Iranian [04:13] singer who's now based in Britain. She [04:16] can't go back to Iran. I mean she's you [04:18] know she's kind of burned her bridges uh [04:20] you know with Iran. She's been in in [04:22] Britain for a while but she's very she [04:24] still feels very connected to Iran and [04:27] her Iranian identity. and she went on [04:29] stage with Uval Raphael who was Israel's [04:32] 2025 [music] [04:33] Euro Vision contestant and together they [04:36] sang a duet of [music] Uval Raphael's [04:39] Euro Vision song New Day Will Rise and [04:41] they performed it in English and French [04:44] but also in Hebrew and in Farsy in [04:48] Persian and it was really really moving [04:51] to see the two of them together at the [04:52] end they embraced and first of all [04:55] they're both beautiful singers and so it [04:57] was just and it's a great song, but it [04:59] was it was very moving to see both of [05:01] them together. [05:03] >> You were there in the room while they [05:06] were singing. What was the what was the [05:08] atmosphere for something like that? I [05:10] mean, you know, we're we've just been at [05:12] war with Iran. How did that feel? [05:14] >> Well, I mean, people were very, very [05:16] welcoming to her. People were very happy [05:19] to hear her. In fact, she was at the [05:20] festival the year before. She's also an [05:23] actress and she was in a movie by an [05:25] Iranian filmmaker who also like her [05:27] cannot go back to Iran and so and she [05:30] kind of fell in love with Hifa and the [05:32] film festival management also really [05:34] liked her and so they had the idea to [05:37] bring her back to to have her sing. But [05:40] people were really going crazy because [05:42] it was they were just happy I think that [05:44] you know they were happy to hear the [05:45] song. a lot of people like that song [05:47] here obviously like it all over the [05:49] world and uh and and so but it was very [05:51] very moving to see her to see her sing [05:53] with you Raphael and then I got to sit [05:56] with Gola the next day and and she told [05:59] me her her whole story about her [06:01] background about how as a child she had [06:04] to stand outside her school and chant [06:07] death to America death to Israel and [06:09] then they would go into school like that [06:10] was how they began their day you know [06:13] and [06:13] >> as you do [06:14] >> and as one does And she she said that [06:16] she always she sounds like a person [06:18] who's always been a bit of a rebel and [06:20] so she kind of questioned it. She was [06:23] very athletic. She hated wearing a [06:25] hijab, you know, and she she just and [06:28] then she decided that she wanted to [06:30] sing. But for women, singing is very [06:32] problematic in Iran. And she told me in [06:35] great detail there's all kinds of [06:36] restrictions. They can only perform for [06:38] female audiences. They can't have [06:40] photographs taken. They can't be filmed [06:43] at the last minute. the performances can [06:45] be cancelled because the lyrics are not [06:49] properly religious enough or you know [06:51] and she she just hated all that and and [06:53] so eventually she she went to abroad and [06:57] then now once she started performing [06:59] abroad she told me she has to stay [07:01] abroad she can't go back to Iran [07:03] >> and I mean you've you've heard some of I [07:06] I think you've heard some of her music [07:08] as well so was there any of her music [07:11] that kind of stuck with you? Well, I [07:14] listened to a whole bunch of her songs [07:15] and so the ones I listened to were were [07:18] mostly in Farsy and but they I just [07:21] loved the sound of them. They were [07:22] beautiful. So, they're kind of like [07:24] updated versions of more traditional [07:27] Iranian music and uh you know, and she [07:30] she started her own record label and [07:33] she's really getting her music out [07:34] there. She's also working on a onewoman [07:36] show because she's really, as I said, [07:39] she's very connected still to what's [07:41] going on in Iran. She's very upset about [07:44] the the killings of all the protesters [07:47] earlier this year and the fact that a [07:49] lot of people in the West don't seem to [07:51] care and her show that she's writing and [07:53] that she will be performing is called [07:55] I'm Not Political. So I think that [07:57] that's an interesting title and she's [08:00] also very funny and so I think it's [08:02] going to be a great show. [08:03] >> Absolutely. I mean I I think we can hear [08:06] a little bit of what she had to say to [08:07] you while you were there. So let's just [08:09] listen to that. I really enjoyed [08:11] performing this song with Yuval. I [08:13] believe her story is extremely powerful. [08:15] Her story is not only her story is a [08:18] story of many Israeli people in Israel. [08:21] We sang this song in four languages, [08:23] English, French, Hebrew, and Farsy. I [08:27] truly believe that in the future we will [08:29] have peace and freedom. But it's only [08:32] possible if we get together. Regardless [08:34] of our religion and the country we come [08:37] from, together anything is possible. [08:40] >> So from a singer who had to fight to be [08:43] heard to a platform in which everyone [08:46] sort of gets heard but not necessarily [08:48] in the best of ways because I think lots [08:50] of people know about the movie the [08:53] social network which in starred Jesse [08:56] Eisenberg and I think uh Andrew Garfield [08:59] was in it as well. a lot of a lot of you [09:02] sort of famous faces were in that movie [09:04] and it it made a lot of noise at the [09:06] time when it came out to sort of talk [09:08] about the story of where Facebook came [09:09] from. Before we get to the new film, [09:11] what did Sawin's first Facebook movie do [09:14] to Zuckerberg? [09:16] >> Well, I think it made him kind of a [09:18] household name. I mean, obviously a lot [09:19] of people knew who he was, but it made [09:22] him a recognizable character in a way [09:24] that I don't think he had been before. [09:26] Now Zuckerberg is in the headlines a lot [09:28] because there have been lawsuits because [09:31] there's been a lot of criticism. At the [09:33] time people just, you know, knew [09:34] Facebook as this fun thing that their [09:36] friends were doing. And the tagline for [09:39] the original movie was you don't get to [09:41] 500 million friends without making a few [09:43] enemies. Now the tagline of the social [09:46] reckoning is we're way past making [09:48] friends. So I think that that tells you [09:51] the difference between the two movies [09:52] pretty clearly. You know, you know, [09:54] >> absolutely. I I mean, so what is what is [09:57] the story this time? Because we've sort [10:00] of you can see there's a difference in [10:02] taglines, but what what is the [10:03] difference here? [10:04] >> Well, so the first one revolved around a [10:07] lawsuit about who really owned the [10:09] rights to Facebook, who had the right to [10:12] profit from it. That was that was the [10:14] first major lawsuit that that Mark [10:17] Zuckerberg was involved in about [10:18] Facebook. But then since then there have [10:21] been a lot of changes both in the [10:23] algorithm and the way people see it and [10:26] that it's being viewed more critically. [10:28] And in 2021 there was a whistleblower [10:30] called Francis Hogan I think that's how [10:33] you pronounce her name who was a [10:35] Facebook employee who ended up giving [10:38] like leaking a lot of documents to [10:40] various places including a reporter for [10:42] the Wall Street Journal. So the movie is [10:44] really about her, how the story gets out [10:47] and then and then a hearing about it [10:49] where where Zuckerberg has to testify [10:53] and and about how he prepares for it. [10:56] And uh this time it's Jeremy Strong from [10:59] Succession who is playing Mark [11:01] Zuckerberg, not Jesse Eisenberg, and he [11:04] plays him in a it's seems to be a much [11:06] less sympathetic portrayal. Jesse [11:09] Eisenberg played Mark Zuckerberg as kind [11:11] of arrogant and full of himself, but [11:14] also kind of this geeky, shy, awkward [11:18] guy. And and Jeremy Strong is much more [11:21] he seems much more self-possessed and [11:24] kind of scarier, like almost diabolical [11:26] from what I've seen of it. So, it's a [11:28] different kind of angle on on Mark [11:31] Zuckerberg. So, the the thing that I've [11:33] been thinking about when we were talking [11:34] about this of what we were going to talk [11:36] about this week, I was trying to think [11:39] of a thing [11:41] that has had such a reversal in how it [11:44] was seen. And my initial one was Megan [11:47] and Megan and Harry, but that's because [11:48] I'm British maybe. But [11:50] >> maybe [11:50] >> maybe but my but but coming along those [11:53] lines cuz I've also seen The Crown on [11:55] Netflix. So, and how much smoking goes [11:58] on in there and you can see, you know, [12:00] ill people smoking and they should [12:02] really stop and and I sort of maybe [12:04] thought that maybe this is social [12:06] media's smoking moment. [12:09] >> Yeah. Well, it's funny because I just [12:10] saw an interview with Aaron Sorcin on [12:12] the Today Show and he compared it to one [12:15] of the movies that he compared it to was [12:17] The Insider, which was about a [12:19] whistleblower on the tobacco industry [12:22] who showed that they were hiding a lot [12:24] of internal data that they themselves [12:26] had taken that showed that of course [12:29] smoking is harmful to your lungs. So [12:31] this is is partly about the internal [12:33] data that Facebook had and without [12:37] Facebook vetting the content enough was [12:39] could be very harmful to the mental [12:41] health of you know vulnerable children, [12:43] teenagers and and it's also about um you [12:47] know even more even even I mean the many [12:51] many like very weighty matters like the [12:54] Facebook fanning ethnic violence in [12:57] Myanmar and Ethiopia by people you [13:00] posting incendiary things, humic tra [13:03] human trafficking, drug cartels who were [13:06] using Facebook for their purposes. It's [13:09] really really serious issues and also [13:11] the the tendency to change the algorithm [13:14] to make it more and more addictive. It's [13:17] all of that is is is kind of at the [13:19] heart of the movie. And and there's this [13:21] scene where Zuckerberg is challenged by [13:23] one of his lawyers and he's prepping for [13:25] his testimony and the guy says, "You're [13:28] supposed to be the crossing guard, but [13:30] it's like you're not moving your arms [13:32] and you're just letting cars plow into [13:34] the children." [13:35] So, you know. Yeah. So, I mean, I never [13:38] really I I I you know, I I don't think [13:41] when I saw that that clip, I realized [13:44] that I may not have been taking all this [13:46] seriously enough. [13:47] >> Right. And and I on top of that though, [13:50] I mean the seriousness of it is that [13:52] Sorin also has his own story of what [13:56] social media does to people. And that [13:57] also ties into October 7th. After [14:01] October 7th, his agent, you know, posted [14:04] some content or liked some content that [14:06] was praising Hamas and that did not sit [14:09] well with him, you know, and if you've [14:11] seen the West Wing, you have a general [14:13] idea of how he feels about most issues. [14:16] He's very very liberal. He believes in [14:18] free speech, but I don't think he wanted [14:21] to work with any with someone anymore [14:23] who who, you know, believed that, you [14:26] know, Israel shouldn't exist and Jews [14:28] around the world should be killed and [14:30] globalized the all of that. So he he [14:33] actually switched agencies so he [14:35] wouldn't have to work with this agent [14:37] anymore. And people asked him if they [14:39] thought if he thought that she was [14:41] anti-Semitic and he said, "She's not [14:44] anti-semitic. She's just wrong." And [14:46] then he just changed the conversation [14:48] and just talked about being excited to [14:50] be with a new agency. So, but but but [14:53] yeah, but it stemmed from what she had [14:56] said or or liked on social media. [14:59] >> Well, after all of that, we need we need [15:01] something to to lift our spirits. And we [15:04] need a wedding. So, or at least someone [15:06] trying very hard to make a wedding [15:08] happen. So, we'll talk about matchmaking [15:10] three. And what is the setup of [15:12] matchmaking three? Because I think you [15:15] might need to know about one or two [15:16] maybe, but but what's the setup of this [15:18] one? [15:19] >> Well, so matchmaking is a series of [15:21] Israeli movies that are are comedies [15:24] about dating in the ultraorththodox [15:26] world, dating and which which is [15:28] matchmaking for for for the [15:29] ultraorththodox. And so so the third [15:33] movie is about Barak who's the hero of [15:36] the second movie and he's a a matchmaker [15:39] and in the second movie is kind of a [15:41] spoiler alert if you haven't seen the [15:42] second movie. He he gets engaged to this [15:45] wonderful woman, but he he's not the [15:47] world's most successful matchmaker and [15:49] he doesn't have a lot of money and he [15:51] feels that she deserves to have a big [15:53] beautiful wedding, which is a big status [15:56] symbol. And and so he can't figure out [15:59] what he's going to do. And then he finds [16:00] out that this billionaire American [16:02] ultraorththodox uh businessman is is [16:06] offering $100,000 to any matchmaker who [16:09] can find a husband for his daughter. And [16:12] the the this matchmaker is played I mean [16:14] this um this billionaire is played by [16:16] Michael Rapaort. He's the actor and [16:19] comedian who's been coming to Israel a [16:21] lot in the last few years. He's showed [16:24] all kinds of support for the hostages [16:26] and for Israel just throughout this [16:28] whole period. He appeared on the comedy [16:30] show Erit Nerret several times. He was [16:32] very very funny on it. And uh and so [16:36] here he is now with his first part in an [16:38] Israeli movie and he's very very good. [16:40] He even speaks a little Hebrew and uh [16:43] and so he really like his scenes are are [16:45] some of the highlights of the movie. [16:47] >> So I mean there's there's always like a [16:50] scene in a movie that becomes iconic or [16:52] very very talked about. What is the one [16:56] in this movie that is going to that is [16:58] going to have people talking or at least [17:00] is already getting people talking. [17:02] >> Yeah. Well, this is it's in the trailer, [17:03] I think. So it's it's uh but so it's a [17:05] little bit of a fish out of water movie [17:07] because Barak goes to uh to New York for [17:10] for a big part of it and he's someone [17:12] you know he's never been abroad and he [17:15] he barely speaks English and and he goes [17:18] and he he goes to Times Square it's [17:20] winter and he gets mugged by a guy [17:23] dressed as Santa Claus and he's sort of [17:26] trying to talk his way out of it in his [17:28] broken English and it's very very funny [17:30] and it was inspired by there actually [17:33] one of the producers of the movie knew [17:35] someone who got mugged by someone [17:36] dressed as Spider-Man in Time Square, [17:39] you know, it's a it's a real thing. But [17:40] uh but it it it's it's funny and I mean [17:43] it's sort of a dramdy because there is [17:46] real drama about what's going to happen [17:47] and is he going to really be able to [17:49] afford his wedding and and and what's [17:52] going on with that. [17:53] >> We see Michael Ravenport play a huge [17:55] range of things. It it's always got his [17:57] his signature accent. Yeah, [17:59] >> I think I have to be honest, I was first [18:00] introduced to him on Friends as one of [18:02] Phoebe's boyfriends. But I mean, how is [18:05] he as a billionaire? Does he does he [18:08] fit? [18:08] >> I think he did great. Yeah, he looks [18:11] like he was wearing a black hat his [18:12] whole life. He looks really comfortable. [18:15] >> I think that might just be a Jewish [18:16] thing, but I think, you know, you you [18:18] look you look Jewish enough, you can [18:20] wear the hat and [18:22] >> Yeah. I mean, his name is Rapaort, you [18:23] know, and and and uh and also he plays a [18:26] real businessman. And it turns out [18:28] that's the kind of twist in the movie [18:30] that that Barak keeps trying to find [18:32] guys who are great, you know, brilliant [18:35] Talmud scholars. And he really wants a [18:37] guy who's kind of street smart who can [18:39] take over the business for him. So for a [18:42] while it seems like maybe Barak is going [18:44] to be the guy who marries his daughter [18:45] because Barak just has all these ideas [18:47] about how he could save money and you [18:50] know how he could run things better and [18:52] he's just kind of shocked because he's [18:53] also so rich that everyone around him is [18:55] kind of a yes man and then Barak is you [18:58] know always speaking his mind. So that [19:00] was also interesting that you know you [19:02] have the clash of the yeshiva world that [19:05] values scholarly Torah learning with you [19:09] know this American businessman [19:11] character. [19:13] >> Right. Well, it's definitely on the list [19:14] of things to watch if you haven't [19:16] watched it already. It's going to be [19:18] available to watch. Do you know where [19:20] it's going to be available to watch? [19:21] Well, it's in theaters in Israel now and [19:23] then, you know, eventually it'll [19:25] definitely be on streaming, but right [19:27] now it's still getting a lot of crowds [19:29] in theaters. It's also one of the few [19:31] movies that you'll go to, at least in [19:33] Jerusalem, and you'll see a lot of [19:35] ultraorththodox people there. They don't [19:37] tend to go to the movies that much as a [19:39] rule, but some of them are making an [19:42] exception for this. [19:44] >> Sure. So, for the people who are coming [19:45] here soon and they can watch it in [19:47] theaters. For everyone else, you'll have [19:49] to wait for it on streaming. But I was [19:51] glad that we're back after the we've [19:53] missed we've missed a few weeks so it's [19:55] nice for us to be back and [19:57] >> we'll be back next week with much more. [20:00] >> Okay, great. [20:02] >> The producer was Gaddy's [music] egg. [20:05] Thanks for watching. [20:11] [music] [20:17] >> [music]
