TELEVISION

Autonomies - Season 1

Series: Autonomies

3.8

(10)

Episodes

Rating

TV14

Year

2018

About

It's the year 2019, and Israel is torn and divided into the secular State of Israel and the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Autonomy.
The bloody riots of 1989 led to the establishment of a Haredi federation within Jerusalem and it surroundings, based upon the Jewish Halachic law. B'nai Brak became a suburb of the secular city of Tel Aviv. Each of Israel's citizens had to choose whether to become a resident of the Haredi autonomy or remain in the jurisdiction of Israel. The State of Israel has remained a country in which there is freedom of religion and religious practice, but religion has been completely separated from state. The following year saw the construction of a separation wall surrounding the Haredi autonomy, with a menacing checkpoint on the border between the State and the Autonomy in the hills of Jerusalem. Any Israeli citizen wishing to visit the Autonomy requires a visa and needs to be physically searched in order to prevent smuggling of prohibited goods into the Autonomy.

Related Subjects

Episodes

1. It was just waiting to happen

51m

Nine years ago, a nurse accidently killed a day-old baby, and in an attempt to hide her wrongdoing, she switched the baby with another. The Reins, who believed they'd lost their daughter all those years ago, and the Luzzatos, who discovered that their beloved Goni was switched at birth, have their world turned upside down.
The trial to determine Goni's fate immediately sets off a media frenzy on both sides of the wall as it concludes with the judge determining that Goni is to remain with the secular parents who raised her.
During the trial, the Rebbe comes up with a back-up plan and turns to petty criminal and undertaker Broide, asking him to kidnap his biological granddaughter and return her to the Autonomy - a request which Broide refuses.
Meanwhile, Broide arrives at the secular city of Tel Aviv and meets grieving musician Anna Blum for the first time.

2. A hymn for the homeless

45m

With the trial behind them, Asher and Batia, whose relationship has been on the rocks for a while, separate and Asher reluctantly leaves their home.
In Tel Aviv, Broide and Anna take their relationship to the next level and, upon his return to the Autonomy, he discovers that both his business and family are falling apart - leading him to leave his criminal life behind.
Unfulfilled by his new reality, Broide gets into a fight with his new tyrant boss and accidently kills him in a moment of frustration. While in custody, the Rebbe pays Broide a visit and gives him one last chance for freedom - in return for abducting Goni and returning her to the Autonomy.

3. Of Time and Fear

41m

Once out of jail, Broide leaves his family and heartbroken wife behind as he travels to the secular state and into Anna's soothing arms. He tells her about his mission to kidnap the girl made famous by the media and she decides to join him.
They devise a plan and successfully abduct little Goni. They rush to make it back to the Autonomy but the police have already been informed and are in pursuit of the kidnappers.
As news of Goni's kidnapping becomes public, the Rebbe comes up with an alternative plan and demands that the couple bring Goni to the city of Kreinitz in the Ukraine.
With the kidnapping in full swing, the Rebbe convenes the Autonomy's Elders' Council for a vote on maintaining the separation of the state from the Autonomy. Just as it's about to begin, the police barge in and takes the Rebbe for interrogation as a suspect in the abduction.

4. High are the walls of the heart

45m

Broide, Anna and Goni flee the country and make their way to Kreinitz while the Rebbe and Elka are questioned regarding their possible involvement in the abduction. Elka figures out her father's role in the kidnapping and decides to visit Batia and offer her support.
The Autonomy council is back in session and recent events drive the elders to unanimously vote in favor of dissolving the Autonomy. The disappointed Rebbe clutches his chest and is rushed to hospital where he gathers his most loyal supporters, including Hilik, and shares his plan to leave Israel for Kreinitz in order to re-settle there.
Meanwhile, Broide, Anna and Goni arrive at Kreinitz by train but just as it's about to pull away from the platform Goni hops back on and leaves Broide and Anna behind.

5. Things turned out differently

44m

Broide and Anna hop on the next train in pursuit of Goni just as the Reins and the Luzzatos arrive at the station. Knowing that the next stop is the last, they get off the train and find out that a train conductor took Goni to the nearby police station, so they decide to run away, freeing themselves from the ordeal.
Leaving their old lives behind once again, Broide and Anna celebrate their new found freedom at a bar and Broide opens up about his haunting past. Drunken and euphoric, they get into a devastating car accident. Back at the train station, not long after they meet at the platform, Hilik and Asher are arrested after getting into a fight fueled by emotions. While Batia waits at the police station for her husband to be released, she suddenly looks up and sees her daughter waiting on the other side of the room. When Hilik and Asher are released, they are surprised to see Batia waiting there with Goni.