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Shiv (Snook) steps upSimon (Elkabetz), right, grapples with the heavy cost of violent conflictAmid even the longest, bloodiest
conflicts, some acts of violence remain
capable of enraging a desensitized
public. One such incident occurred on
June 12, 2014, when three teenage Jewish
boys were kidnapped in the West Bank.
As the Israel Defense Forces launched a
massive manhunt—which ended in the
deaths of five Palestinians and the ar-
rests of about 400— Israelis took to the
streets to demand the boys’ safe return.
But on June 30, a search party found the
bodies of all three, shot dead by Hamas
militants. The nation mourned. Nation-
alists started talking about revenge.
The HBO miniseries Our Boys, an
American- Israeli co- production pre-
miering Aug. 12, dramatizes what hap-
pened next. Before the sad news about
the boys breaks, we meet two other
teens: Mohammed (Ram Masarweh), an
Arab who’s doing construction work for
his dad (Jony Arbid), who daydreams
about an upcoming trip to Istanbul; and
Avishai (Adam Gabay), an Orthodox
Jew, who struggles at yeshiva. Growing
up in Jerusalem, both are gentle boys
who chafe at family expectations. Simi-
larities like these can fuel heart warming
stories of cross-cultural friendship.
Sadly, what happened after the ini-REVIEW
In Israel, a true story of bitter revengetial murders is the stuff of a political
thriller.
At its center is Simon (Shlomi Elka-
betz), an Israeli Security Agency opera-
tive on the nationalist beat. When Jew-
ish vigilantes retaliate in the name of
the slain boys, their violence enrages
a disenfranchised Arab community. It
also forces Jews to acknowledge that
there are dangerous extremists who
share their faith. And it exposes the apa-
thy with which powerful majorities can
treat the pain of oppressed minorities.
The result of a collaboration between
The Affair creator Hagai Levi, Ortho-
dox Jewish filmmaker Joseph Cedar and
Palestinian writer- director Tawfik Abu
Wael, Our Boys depicts each culture
with empathy and specificity. In fact, it’s
so conscientious that it’s bound to con-
fuse viewers who aren’t familiar with
Jerusalem neighborhoods, the Israeli
justice system, or the differences be-
tween Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews.
(As a secular American Jew, I often lost
track.) Despite superb performances,
this dearth of context and a frustratingly
slow pace can make the show a hard sit.
Stick around, though, and you’ll be re-
warded with a timely argument that an
eye for an eye isn’t always justice. —J.b.REVIEW
The sour smell
of Succession
Something is rotten in the
house of Roy—literally. In
Succession’s Season 2
premiere, airing Aug. 11, HBO’s
off-brand Murdochs convene at
one of their many homes, only
to be greeted by the stench of
putrefying flesh. Someone has
stuffed octogenarian media
mogul Logan Roy’s (Brian Cox)
chimney with dead raccoons.
This repulsive homecoming is
a perfectly blunt metaphor for a
photogenic family gone bad—
and a hint of what’s to come for
this Emmy-nominated satire.
In the wake of the wedding
that closed out the show’s first
season—where the fragile
Kendall (Jeremy Strong) staged
a hostile takeover of his dad’s
company, then abandoned
it when Logan caught him
covering up manslaughter—
the Roys are scrambling to
retain their empire. Kendall
and snarky younger brother
Roman (Kieran Culkin) are at
each other’s throats. And the
family’s news business takes
the spotlight, with Logan’s
spectacularly unqualified
scions joining the drama that
is media circa 2019. These
developments make for a
season that’s just as nastily
funny as the first. But the
real cause for celebration is
the increased attention to
Shiv (Sarah Snook), a sharp
strategist who might be the
show’s true protagonist.
ÑJ.B.