For an hour and a half two people tell a shared story: Mosab Hassan Yousef and Gonen Ben Yitzhak. Even when director Nadav Schirman highlights their words with footage and recreations that evoke thrillers like HOMELAND or ZERO DARK THIRTY, it’s actually enough just to listen to the protagonists recount their recollections. THE GREEN PRINCE is a fascinating documentary that sustains the tension of a well-executed Hollywood thriller. The film is not a fictionalized account, but rather Mosab’s life story, published in 2011 and titled _Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue and Unthinkable Choices_. In it, the eldest son of Hamas’ founder Sheikh Hassan Youssef tells how he was apprehended at 17 by the Israeli security service Shin Bet. He agrees to work for the Israelis as an informant. He was known as “the Green Prince” and soon became a valuable source of information. He gains the respect and friendship of his Israeli handler, Shin Bet agent Gonen Ben Yitzhak and the two remain in close contact after Yitzhak is fired and Mosab seeks asylum in the USA. THE GREEN PRINCE gives the viewer some glimmer of hope that humanity, respect and a sense of connection have a chance against a vicious circle of hate, violence and counterviolence.

Jens Mayer (INDIEKINO MAGAZIN)

Translation: Carla MacDougall