Film ReviewsThe Green Prince: Game On
Oct 27, 2014, Anchorage Press
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Everyone makes mistakes, but there are some mistakes that catapult one past a point of no return. When Mosab Hassan Yousef, at the age of 17 and in a reactionary moment characteristic of his age and circumstances, buys guns and smuggles them through Israeli checkpoints, he changed the course of his life. Mosab is the son of Hamas founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, thus the title The Green Prince, which alludes both to the color of the Hamas flag and Mosab's place in the family tree. Mosab was arrested as a result of the guns incident. This led to his decade-long engagement with Shin Bet, the Israeli security agency, as an informant. Mosab's Shin Bet handler was Gonen Ben Yitzhak. The relationship between the men is the heart of The Green Prince and serves as a microcosm of the conflict.
The Green Prince is written and directed by filmmaker Nadav Schirman, a documentarian who has made similar movies such as In the Dark Room, the story of Magdalene and Rose Kopf, wife and daughter of arch-terrorist Carlos, known as "The Jackal," and Champagne Spy about a 12-year old boy whose father is a Mossad secret agent. In The Green Prince, Schirman uses a unique approach in which his role as narrator is almost non-existent, at least not overtly with conventional, documentary-style voice overs or interjections. Schirman presents key dates and event summaries in text form that emerge from the side of the screen in computerized font that may remind some viewers of video games or sci-fi movies. This type of presentation is important as viewers try to differentiate between the overlapping cinematic styles. The Green Prince unfolds through back and forth narration by Yousef and Yitzhak and their retelling of the events from their respective points of view. While their points of views are not in direct contradiction, they are different, reflecting each man's interests and motivations. The narratives are enhanced by repetitive reenactments sprinkled with existing news footage in a docu-drama style that slips into a crime show aesthetic. Schirman addresses different subjects in the documentary by dividing it into subchapters, each with titles such as, "Hamas," "Olive Tree," "The Game," etc.
The Green Prince has been received in the movie world as a documentary that has characteristics that are usually reserved for fictitious, entertaining, and plot-driven movies, such as action thrillers and suspense films. Clearly, Schirman has a proclivity for the subject matter and an eye for making spy thrillers, but considering the seriousness and the global importance of the subject matter, the delivery is distracting and some viewers may not only find themselves feeling manipulated, but also wonder where the line is between fiction and fact. Viewers may want to see Schirman make a fictional, action-packed movie someday, but its important to keep in mind that The Green Prince is a documentary.
To be fair, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been going on for a very long-time, it's complicated on every level and goes beyond any simplistic way of trying to figure out who is right or why. No one can tackle the conflict in 95 minutes. The film raises more questions than it can possibly answer, and that is a good thing because it is up to viewers to assess the situation using their own moral compasses and knowledge of history. It also compels them to accept the challenge of having an open mind in order to understand the humanity and complexity of everyone involved, of the different cultures and political systems. As The Green Prince progresses it does a better job at focusing on the personal dynamic between Yousef and Yitzhak. The events it recounts, the comings and goings, the management of the "game", and the actions and reactions of both sides are enough to make one's head want to explode. More importantly, it makes viewers aware of how much more difficult it must be to live in the reality that millions of Israelis and Palestinians face on a daily basis. In the case of Mosab Hassan Yousef, his personal conundrums are indicative of the fears and helplessness that exist on a grander scale. Schirman does not judge Yousef or Yitzhak, he simply lets their story be known, even if his film is slightly unbalanced.
The idea of the "game" is not used lightly, neither in this review nor in the The Green Prince itself. When generations are born into conditions and political situations that are pre-established and almost impossible to change by individuals alone, people are left with no recourse but to find ways of circumventing systems, "gaming" them, in order to survive and protect others. Yousef and Yitzhak's collaboration is a prime example of the ends to which all sides must go to manage the impacts of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Green Prince is point of departure. The story told by the documentary does not start at the beginning of the conflict, nor does it provide sufficient historical background information-it starts in the mid-1990s. The story also does not end when the film ends because the protagonists' lives continue. Curious viewers may likely go home and google Mosab Hassan Yousef, perhaps read his book, Son of Hamas, they will find a plethora of information and disinformation from all aspects of political sides and interests. Viewers beware, ask questions, because in the political game of chess, every figure, kings, queens, bishops and pawns are independent players, and as The Green Prince illustrates, even the chess masters are not in full control.
The Green Prince shows at Bear Tooth on Monday, October 27 at 7:45 p.m.
The Green Prince is written and directed by filmmaker Nadav Schirman, a documentarian who has made similar movies such as In the Dark Room, the story of Magdalene and Rose Kopf, wife and daughter of arch-terrorist Carlos, known as "The Jackal," and Champagne Spy about a 12-year old boy whose father is a Mossad secret agent. In The Green Prince, Schirman uses a unique approach in which his role as narrator is almost non-existent, at least not overtly with conventional, documentary-style voice overs or interjections. Schirman presents key dates and event summaries in text form that emerge from the side of the screen in computerized font that may remind some viewers of video games or sci-fi movies. This type of presentation is important as viewers try to differentiate between the overlapping cinematic styles. The Green Prince unfolds through back and forth narration by Yousef and Yitzhak and their retelling of the events from their respective points of view. While their points of views are not in direct contradiction, they are different, reflecting each man's interests and motivations. The narratives are enhanced by repetitive reenactments sprinkled with existing news footage in a docu-drama style that slips into a crime show aesthetic. Schirman addresses different subjects in the documentary by dividing it into subchapters, each with titles such as, "Hamas," "Olive Tree," "The Game," etc.
The Green Prince has been received in the movie world as a documentary that has characteristics that are usually reserved for fictitious, entertaining, and plot-driven movies, such as action thrillers and suspense films. Clearly, Schirman has a proclivity for the subject matter and an eye for making spy thrillers, but considering the seriousness and the global importance of the subject matter, the delivery is distracting and some viewers may not only find themselves feeling manipulated, but also wonder where the line is between fiction and fact. Viewers may want to see Schirman make a fictional, action-packed movie someday, but its important to keep in mind that The Green Prince is a documentary.
To be fair, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been going on for a very long-time, it's complicated on every level and goes beyond any simplistic way of trying to figure out who is right or why. No one can tackle the conflict in 95 minutes. The film raises more questions than it can possibly answer, and that is a good thing because it is up to viewers to assess the situation using their own moral compasses and knowledge of history. It also compels them to accept the challenge of having an open mind in order to understand the humanity and complexity of everyone involved, of the different cultures and political systems. As The Green Prince progresses it does a better job at focusing on the personal dynamic between Yousef and Yitzhak. The events it recounts, the comings and goings, the management of the "game", and the actions and reactions of both sides are enough to make one's head want to explode. More importantly, it makes viewers aware of how much more difficult it must be to live in the reality that millions of Israelis and Palestinians face on a daily basis. In the case of Mosab Hassan Yousef, his personal conundrums are indicative of the fears and helplessness that exist on a grander scale. Schirman does not judge Yousef or Yitzhak, he simply lets their story be known, even if his film is slightly unbalanced.
The idea of the "game" is not used lightly, neither in this review nor in the The Green Prince itself. When generations are born into conditions and political situations that are pre-established and almost impossible to change by individuals alone, people are left with no recourse but to find ways of circumventing systems, "gaming" them, in order to survive and protect others. Yousef and Yitzhak's collaboration is a prime example of the ends to which all sides must go to manage the impacts of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Green Prince is point of departure. The story told by the documentary does not start at the beginning of the conflict, nor does it provide sufficient historical background information-it starts in the mid-1990s. The story also does not end when the film ends because the protagonists' lives continue. Curious viewers may likely go home and google Mosab Hassan Yousef, perhaps read his book, Son of Hamas, they will find a plethora of information and disinformation from all aspects of political sides and interests. Viewers beware, ask questions, because in the political game of chess, every figure, kings, queens, bishops and pawns are independent players, and as The Green Prince illustrates, even the chess masters are not in full control.
The Green Prince shows at Bear Tooth on Monday, October 27 at 7:45 p.m.