Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Our Boys’ On HBO, An Israeli Series Based On A Real-Life Incident Where Three Boys Were Kidnapped

In the summer of 2014, three boys, all around 18-19 years old, were kidnapped in Jerusalem by what Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu reported were members of Hamas. An Arab teen was kidnapped and killed as a reprisal, sparking a war in Gaza that cost thousands of lives and placed new tensions between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs in Jerusalem. Our Boys is a fictionalized account of this kidnapping and the aftermath. Read on for more…

OUR BOYS: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A screenshot of a call coming into Jerusalem police. The person on the other end says “I’ve been kidnapped.” Then there’s a lot of commotion and the call is cut off.

The Gist: In the first episode of the fictionalized account of this incident and what followed, there’s is still lots of hope that the boys are alive. The search for the boys is being led by Simon (Shlomi Elkabetz), one of the top terrorism agents in the Jewish Division of the Israeli Security Agency.

Despite all the prayer vigils at the Western Wall and rallies where the boys’ parents try to keep their sons in the public’s minds, it’s been over two weeks and Simon knows where this is going. He wants the parents to temper expectations in order not to foment outrage if the boys aren’t found alive, but when he meets with a spokesman of the parents, he’s chided for his pessimism.

Meanwhile, we see two teens try to figure out what they want their lives to be, while constant tension in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is always bubbling just under the surface. Young yeshiva student Avishai (Adam Gabay) is encouraged by his uncle Yosef (Or Ben Melech) to ditch his studies and join him in his more radical pursuits; Avishai is so disillusioned with his yeshiva he just might do it. In East Jerusalem, Mohammed (Ram Masarweh) decides to get a job in the mostly-Jewish west side of town after clashing with his father Hussein (Jony Arbid) over a trip to Istanbul that his dad promised then revoked.

Once of the bodies of the boys are found, though, Mohammed and the Arab friend who got him the new job have to try to get home without speaking Arabic or getting called out for not being Jewish, as anger and protests immediately start to swell. Even in Mohammed’s neighborhood, things aren’t safe, as a woman reports that three Jewish settlers tried to take her child, perhaps as a reprisal. It’s too the point where, even when Mohammed tells his mother Suha (Ruba Blal Asfour) he’s going to the mosque for the late-night call to prayer, she’s understandably worried for her boy’s safety.

Our Take: Keshet Studios (and by extension, Keshet International) have cornered the market on well-produced, well-cast shows that give new perspectives on the ever-roiling situation in the Middle East, especially in Israel. Our Boys is based on the real kidnapping that set off fighting in Gaza that costs thousands of lives and destroyed the homes of thousands more. It was a situation that was going to have no good outcome, even if the boys were found alive. And what co-creators Hagai Levi, Joseph Cedar and Tawfik Abu-Wael try to show is that the simmering tensions had horrible results for both sides.

They try not to take sides in this eternal conflict, which is always appreciated when it comes to shows about Israeli-Palestinian relations that lead to war. The murders of those three boys were tragic and unjust, of course, but the show makes sure to show that the retaliatory kidnapping and murder that occurred immediately after was just as tragic and unjust.

It’s key that we’re seeing this case through the eyes of Simon, who has seen it all before in his career to the point where he’s even too cynical for his boss. He won’t get caught up in the passion of either side and will just want to get to the bottom of the murders. So as tensions ratchet up, he’ll be the calming factor to bring the perspective back to the middle, to see how he can use the passion of each side to his advantage. Will he succeed? Probably not; that’s the nature of the conflict. But it also keeps the viewer at the even keel a show like this needs them to be.

We’re not sure where Avashai’s story is going, other than the fact that he might have been radicalized enough to try to get revenge on the murders. We see him playing guitar with yeshiva buddies and crying over the kidnapped trio, feeling for them in his gut. So we may see that come through in all sorts of ways. But his character is a bit underserved in the first episode.

Sex and Skin: Not that kind of show.

Parting Shot: Shua looks out her window and sees Mohammed waiting for his buddies to they can go to the mosque. She looks down, then back up, and he’s suddenly gone.

Sleeper Star: As things go forward, we will see Jony Arbid as Hussein a bit more, as he tries to figure out what happened to Mohammed and maybe have some regrets at how they left things.

Most Pilot-y Line: Nothing stands out; this is a pretty well-executed first episode that doesn’t waste a lot of time.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Trying to portray the intricacies of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a TV show is always difficult, but Our Boys is a compelling fictionalization of a very complicated story.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company’s Co.Create and elsewhere.

Stream Our Boys on HBO