‘Dovekeepers’ Masada has martyrs to die for
AS STIRRING drama about a small band of believers defying powerful oppressors, “The Dovekeepers” achieves its goal.
Around 70 A.D., some 960 Jews who were part of a larger rebellion against Roman rule retreated to the hilltop encampment of Masada, where they survived briefly until the Romans overwhelmed them.
According to the historical account of that era by Jew-turned Roman-historian Flavius Josephus, almost all the inhabitants killed themselves — or perhaps each other — rather than submit to the Roman yoke.
Masada has since become a symbol of defiant faith, and “The Dovekeepers” fully embraces that premise.
It turns Masada into lavish television melodrama, with lush filming, beautiful people, stirring speeches and romantic subplots set against the terrible shadow of inevitable doom.
The story revolves around the only two woman who reportedly survived, and on whose accounts Josephus (Sam Neill) heavily relied. Shirah is played by Cote de Pablo and Yael by Rachel Brosnahan, and while both are flawed, they’re strong and inspiring. The fact anyone survived is what makes a sad story bearable.
The caveat here: Many scholars question whether this account of Masada is a wellcrafted myth.
The Jews at Masada, they note, were Sicarii, an extreme sect that was exiled from Jerusalem by their fellow Jews for intolerable and at times murderous behavior. The Sicarii reportedly had no more use for non-Sicarii Jews than they did for Romans.
That doesn’t mean Masada was Jonestown. But there is considerable debate these days whether Masada inhabitants were really pure heroic martyrs to the longterm survival of Judaism.
“The Dovekeepers” is well produced television, polishing a long-ago tragedy into a smooth story. That may or may not be the same thing as accurate history.