The Green Prince

I'm still in that post-amazement daze.

First, I almost never last two seconds on "story telling" documentaries (I need in-the-moment action and suspense). This still had action and suspense for two reasons:

1. The story was incredible.

2. There was plenty of original footage (I saw a review stating that this was just guys in a room talking, but that is untrue - lots of original footage).

You just can't believe that this really happened. Not with a person so high in the Hamas hierarchy.

And there was no boring build-up. I hate having to "invest" time, risking my time for an unknown pay-off. The story, editing, and people grabbed me from the beginning.

All I'm going to say is that you get the perspective of both the Hamas leader's son, and his "handler."

All you need is the capacity for reason, and at least a minimal awareness of the Israel-Palastine conflict; and you will probably enjoy this.

A difficult, touching documentation of the experiences of two men living under very stressful circumstances. Other reviews criticise it for being one-sided, and it may well be if viewed from a wider perspective of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but taken at face value, the interaction between Mosab and Gonen, that develops into a trust beyond blood, is an uplifting story that needs to widely heard. A solid documentary that, treated with care and sensitivity, could probably be turned into a powerful movie. This is a tale of hope.

I don't know how I found this, or why I watched it, but I'm glad I did.

> It's a true story, and it's got mystery, betrayal of many kinds, and in the last place you'd expect, it has love and admiration. It shocked and surprised me in many ways. If given the chance, Hollywood writers couldn't have written a better story than this true one.

> All I can say is, that if you think this isn't the type of doc you usually like, or dismiss it for any other reason, don't. It's not something I normally watch and would dismiss it without another thought, but I didn't for some weird reason and I'm so glad I did. Just watch it.

Mosab Hassan Yousef is the eldest son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a leader of Hamas. He is caught running guns at 17 and imprisoned by the Israelis. He is shocked to find Hamas torturing people suspected of being informers. Israel's security service Shin Bet is able to recruit him and Gonen Ben Yitzhak becomes his handler.

I didn't know anything about this story before watching this movie. I honestly figured that this is a fictionalized account with actors for the first half hour. The style is very plain with Mosab and Gonen talking straight into the camera. The story is so compelling that it is utterly riveting. I do wonder why he did what he did. He gives explanations and hints but I'm not sure if there is something more.

This documentary has one of those life-is-stranger-than-fiction premises. The son of one of the founders of the terrorist Hamas organization was successfully turned into an informant for the Israeli secret services, the Shin Bet. The story of Hassan Yousef would have remained one of the best guarded secrets of Israeli history had he not voluntarily exposed himself as a mole while living in the US after retiring as an Israeli asset. The story that gradually unfolds throughout the Green Prince is full of unexpected twists and intense political intrigue and family drama that one day needs to be turned into a full length feature film. But for now, we have this very competent documentary. Much of the film is a protracted interview with the Hasan with little camera movement, and simple lighting. This may sound like an overlong CNN special report, but the interview has such intensity, and Hassan narrates episodes of his life with such expressiveness and honesty, that the chronicle itself is gripping. It is interspersed with scenes that combine drone, night vision and CCTV like imagery, real news footage and some recreated acted moments, all heightening rather than replacing the narration. The storytelling and editing is tight and economical. Instead of taking a merely journalistic approach, it opts for a character study that slowly unfolds, turning a spy thriller plot into a story of betrayal and redemption that goes beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. What the story does particularly well is show how gradually Hasan distanced himself from his father politically without ever disowning him. He simultaneously undermined him tactically and tried to avoid any threat to his life. At the same time, his "handler" Gonen Ben Yitzhak became a father- like figure. This bonding could be dismissed as no more than a predictable "Stockholm syndrome" denouement but for the fact that it was reciprocated by Gonen, who ultimately must also make a decision between advancing his career and protecting Hassan. The material never feels preachy or sanctimonious and it refuses to turn characters, even the Hamas founders, into cartoonish villains. A truly great documentarian like Werner Herzog or Joshua Oppenheimer might have taken a few more liberties with the material, and perhaps an even more cinematic approach, but this still deserves to be watched. In my case, the story lingered in my mind for many days after I had seen it.