Doron Ben-David as Amir
Courtesy of Chaiflicks Words can come back to haunt you.
That’s a message from “The Lesson,” one of the best shows to ever come out of Israel. The series has a no-nonsense attitude, with blistering acting that makes clear a classroom can be a battlefield where surrender doesn’t come easy, if at all.
The series, which premiered in Israel in 2022 and is now streaming on ChaiFlicks, is a showcase for the powerhouse performances of Doron Ben-David and Maya Landsman. Ben-David plays Amir, a divorced and financially struggling 43-year-old civics teacher. Landsman is Lian, a high school senior with low self-esteem.
The six-episode series follows what happens after a Amir and Lian have a heated argument in class over racism, which becomes a scandal after a recording of Amir heatedly lecturing the class goes viral.
Deakla Keydar, who created and wrote the show, was inspired by several instances where teachers in Israel were disciplined due to politics in the classroom.
Deakla Keydar, who created and wrote the show, was inspired by several instances where teachers in Israel were disciplined due to politics in the classroom. She said she thought it was a hot button issue but wasn’t sure the show would gain steam.
“I know five teachers that found themselves out of the education system because of the content of what they taught in class,” Keydar told the Journal. “The idea is of a mini-drama with a fight that snowballs into a big fire. It’s not a feel-good idea, so we thought it might go under the radar, but many people were moved by it.”
“The Lesson” won the Award for Best Drama Series at the Israeli Television Academy Awards, Best Drama Screenplay and Landsman won for Best Actress in a Drama. The show and Landsman also won at the 2022 Cannes series.
Ben-David, known for his role of Steve on “Fauda,” said it was unforgettable to see his show get international recognition, as it centers on what a teacher can or can’t say to students. “It’s a big issue, but a small show,” Ben-David told the Journal. “I didn’t imagine that six episodes of one season would be such a big hit. Landsman said winning was nearly an out-of-body experience. “When I heard my name, I thought it was in my imagination,” Landsman told the Journal. “When I stood up from my chair, I thought that I’m a crazy woman that imagined I need to get a prize. Then I realized it was reality. We were so happy to win. It’s not just us believing in us, it’s all the world … for our show about a very specific situation in our problematic, complicated and amazing country.”
Landsman feels “very connected to Lianne … I was a problematic student, very messy. I wanted to push the limits. From the political side, when I first started high school, I remember the principal was fanatical about saying ‘you need to understand you will be going to the Army.’ It was weird. But the same principal [later became] left-wing. It was interesting for me as a student to see a principal, an older man, change his opinion and to see this change was interesting.”
But she does not identify with the part of her character that said hateful things about Arabs. “I think she got so much power from this situation,” Landsman said. “She understood she can be kind of a leader. She had so many problems with her parents, and this helped her confidence and she played with limits and talked about things she knows nothing about.”
Landsman gives a finely nuanced performance as a young woman who lashes out without knowing where it will lead; Ben-David is perfect as a man who wants to be a good teacher and do the right thing, but repeatedly puts his foot in his mouth.
Director Eitan Zur gives the show a sense of realism.
What teacher can and cannot say to class is a hot button issue. “I prefer my kids to study with a teacher that says their (political) thoughts,” Ben-David said. “We need to teach our kids to sit and listen to people and accept their thoughts, even if they don’t agree.” Landsman worried that students could be brainwashed by only being privy to part of the puzzle. “I think the teachers have a responsibility to bring in a lot of opinions, facts, and sides of history,” she said. “
Keydar, who has two teenage daughters, said while some don’t give much credit to teachers, it’s an important and complex profession. She said the series’ penultimate scene, which showed whether or not Amir would keep his job, was difficult to write.
Keydar doesn’t think Israeli high school students are tougher than their counterparts across the world because they serve in the IDF after graduation. “They go to the Army at the age of 18, and they don’t know anything about life,” she said. “I think we’re all the same. It’s just that the situation in Israel is that people are more nervous, under stress, it’s very hot, and there is an intense political climate.” Keydar’s lean and intense script is brilliant. But there won’t be a second season, she insists.
“The Lesson” joins an impressive roster of shows on ChaiFlicks, such as “Checkout,” a comedy that features Landsman, the crime drama “Asylum City” which co-stars Ben-David and the “The New Black,” a show about four religious friends in yeshiva.
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