2024-02-06 16:24:07
Some great years have passed on Israeli television. So great that series that in another decade would have become a hype monster become another excellent Israeli series. Take for example “Uri Valla” – a particularly excellent piece of television that still passes by word of mouth as a recommendation, but more of the “there is a situation you missed” type instead of “the classic you probably already know”. Good trouble, we know, but this is really a good enough series that we want to shower it with praise over and over again at every opportunity.
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And here, after too long a wait (7 years since the series, 5 since the sequel was first reported), the perfect opportunity has arrived. “Tito and Roho”, the new spin-off created by Dina Sanderson and Yuval Shaferman (screenwriter and director of “Uri Vala”) arrived last night on HOT’s VOD, and this Thursday will also be broadcast on HOT3. The new series focuses on the character of Zuki, a restaurateur and hedonistic celebrity chef played by Pablo Rosenberg, who stole the show in that series and, by and large, in the romance with Sanderson’s character.
Now we get a glimpse into his world, and at a particularly critical moment – his partner Eden (Maggie Ezerzer) is about to give birth to their daughter together, while his ex-wife Samdar (Sharit Vino Elad) is experiencing a mental crisis and is staying at the two’s home, after no other relative came to her aid . At the same time, there are also cuts and changes in his restaurant, which his brother Michal (played by Shmulik Rosenberg, the star’s brother) leads with some laziness, while he also functions as Tsuki’s personal manager while he himself faces a never-ending divorce battle.
Like any really good spin-off, “Tito Verruho” immediately cuts the umbilical cord and does not try to recreate or recycle the series from which it was created. Everything about it was created to suit its protagonist – the tone that crudely mixes comedy and drama, the plot structure that adapts itself to a never-ending mess and the content itself, which touches on the low and flashy without giving up intense human love. She bursts with laughter even at the height of terrible and difficult moments and is full of sensitivity even in the most vulgar moments of her heroes. And most importantly – like Tsuki, this is a series that understands and sees people including all the little details, the ones that are easy to ignore or pretend we missed. It also looks spectacular, thanks to the beautiful photography as always by Guy Raz.
The first three episodes of “Tito and his spirit” are almost three short films in nature, and each focuses on a different story – the first revolves around the event of Aden’s grandiose birthday and its consequences, the second is a kind of day in the life of Mishal and the third focuses on the tension between Aden and Samdar due to a health concern. It’s a structure that invites concentrated and anti-binge viewing of an episode a week, one that allows the viewer to be drawn into the particular world of the episode itself and not just wait for a scene that will move the story forward. At the end of this three we already have at least four fascinating characters that we just want to get to know more and more. Not necessarily because of who they are – none of them are easy or easy to digest – but precisely because they feel like complete, complex and constantly evolving people.
Take Eden for example – a narcissistic diva of the type who could star in the video “How Beautiful I am, How Worthy I am”, but you won’t catch her losing her self-control like that. She wants everything to be done her way, and is quick to explode and get down to personal lines when she feels threatened. When she thinks that Smeder’s doctor is underestimating her, she scratches her car. She turns to Smeder herself in tears in what seems like a moment of bonding between two very different women, but then surprises with a scolding monologue about Smeder sending the children home to her in unclean clothes or without deodorant. And yet, it’s very hard to hate her and you can completely understand her every step, even the ugliest.
Successful character gallery. “Tito and his spirit”. Photo: Ohad Romano, courtesy of HOT and NEXT TV
In the same way, Tsuki is much more than a hedonistic and flamboyant type who likes to live well and get along well with everyone. This bubble already burst in “Uri Vala”, and here the attempt to decipher his character is the heart of the matter, even when those around him steal the focus. Tsuki’s insistence on remaining a happy, energetic and optimistic person no matter what comes from innocence or some hidden inner strength, is a performance. Even within the plot of the series, Tsuki is also a TV star, and his show doesn’t end when the cameras go off. The compulsive need to stick to the good is to a large extent also an attempt to encourage and even please the people who are close to him – and sometimes also his way of maintaining control. This extroversion is opposed to the certain modesty in which his mother and brother carry themselves, and of course also to the depressed Smeder, who in one of the episodes sincerely apologizes to him for not joining him enough at events and outings when they were married.
The trick of “Tito and his spirit” is the fact that apart from emotional nuances and complex characters it also has a certain sensational element. Also because Tsuki is a chaotic and emotion-driven person, also because the relationship between him and Eden is a huge box of explosives, but mainly because of the level of risks. We meet each of the characters in the series standing to some degree on the edge of an open pit, and much of the interest in the early episodes comes from flirting with that danger, with the possibility of real harm being done to someone or something. The question is how determined the foot on the gas will be, and how much the creators will feel the need to balance its complexity with dramatic climaxes.
“Tito Verruho”, available on HOT VOD, will be broadcast on Thursday at 22:00 on HOT3
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