Exactly this

Thought it was actually very good. You could see that banksy clearly wanted a stunt nativity, Boyle resisted and went to some length to try and give it some purpose and meaning by understanding the people who live there.

By engaging with locals and banksy, I think Boyle managed to create something that was enjoyable for everyone and for a short period of time allowed everyone to forget where they are and just enjoy a nativity.

I think the Balfour element may have happened as a result of Boyle ensuring the alternativity was actually for locals rather than a stunt event for the press.

Film was good at showing A side to Palestine that is rarely shown, everyday people getting on with everyday lives.

As an operation to smuggle a (family friendly) documentary on the illegal wall issue on prime time TV, this was definitively a success.

Most of the rhetoric we are exposed to in the West depicts Palestinians as dangerous and unreasonable - when did you last see footage from there without the Kalashnikovs wielding Hamas?

Here instead the narration was about very normal people striving for a normal lifestyle - nativity school play included - despite living under apartheid in the biggest open air jail on the planet.

Hence, if found it quite good, and at moments even touching and poetic.

Yes, that's exactly what I was trying to point out!

chrisjl and alsbabar .... well written. I couldn’t agree more.

What we saw yesterday (and yes, I’m in the U.S. and with one click on the link provided on several threads by UAA members, I watched with no issues in real time) was/is brilliant. I suspect that the nativity play, while wonderful, will not be as powerful as this, the behind the scenes documentary, for all the reasons that chrisjl and alsbabar pointed out. The nativity play itself is like art within art, and shatters more stereotypes for those who think that Palestinians are hell bent on exterminating all Christians and Jews. An hour long documentary with performance art at its center, that is both highly charged politics and non-threatening at the same time. It’s hard to hate children being children, and it is eye opening that parents, who have suffered an incredible injustice, aren’t teaching their children to try to change the system that created the injustice, but are shielding them from it.

Missed it yesterday. Is it still available somewhere for non uk residents?

quick search found this on youtube

Thanks!

I’ve not read any comments on here, so I’ve no idea on how last night’s show was received. My take is that using children was wrong, as it most definitely was with the Balfour stunt, which seemed even more crass than I’d originally thought. As mentioned a few times in the show, these are children that have no concept of politics or in some cases that there is a wall at all.

Chances are the parents only agreed for their kids taking part because of who Danny Boyle is, as it was a once in a life time chance for those young people to be in a Boyle production. Interesting too that there seemed to be mixed views about Banksy from the locals too.

While Banksy seems to have admirable intentions, I genuinely think that he’d do well to have more people like Boyle reigning him back. That Jo Brookes certainly wasn’t and seemed like she was loving the Balfour thing, even though the locals were storming it. The other thought I had was it all seemed to me a bit like Bono syndrome of a multi millionaire imposing their own thoughts and views whether they’re right or wrong. I get that he wants to help the situation, but these kind of stunts actually make me wonder if I’m really that keen on Banksy at all.

my take is that you didn't watch it... if you had, you would have known the part about using children was discussed in it and the play was really organized and run by a local acting teacher. These children and their parents have no idea who Danny Boyle is.

you're not wrong to have that opinion, but I would suggest watching it first before forming your opinion about it

Not sure there’s much point responding to your comment. But, yes, I did watch it. Did you not pick up the reticence of the drama teacher that you mention? Suggest you try watching again more closely. An interesting question to have asked the parents would have been would you have preferred the play in a) a school assembly hall or b) a wealthy English artist’s hotel car park overlooked by snipers. I’m sure you’re right that the kids had no idea who Danny Boyle is, but I’m sure when the parents are told a world famous Hollywood director is running it they may feel it’s hard to say no.

We haven't seen 'the show' yet that is on wednesday,  Its the children that are the real stars

It was okay I thought and at least he's keeping to his cause.. didn't agree with the kids street party, in contridicted the part at the end where they harped on about most parents keep their kids from the wall? But there were loads of kids there for that party.