Movie Reviews

‘The Human Factor’ Blu-Ray Review – A Thrilling Exploration Of The Israeli-Palestinian Peace Negotiations

By Dillon Gonzales
September 19, 2021
One Comment

Mulling over the intricacies of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict feels like a responsibility better left for those with political power. Most common Americans at least realize that it is one of the oldest and most contentious continuous conflicts, and it is one that has no apparent end in sight. As we struggle to come to terms with the countless lives lost, it is important to understand how close we once were to something resembling peace. In the new documentary The Human Factor from director Dror Moreh (The Gatekeepers), we get a deep dive into the efforts to broker peace over the past three decades with the people who were intimately involved with negotiations. If this sounds like a dry history lesson waiting to happen, the reality could not be further from the truth; The Human Factor functions as a pulse-pounding political thriller which will make you forget that you already know the outcome.

Although technically chronicling the past three decades of our attempts to solidify a meeting of the minds, the majority of the film delves into the Clinton administration as the United States rose to prominence as the only global superpower coming out of the Cold War in 1991. Moreh assembles six men consisting of intelligence and foreign policy experts who were tasked with arranging a series of sit-downs with the two sides. These subjects are deeply knowledgeable and are not afraid to break down what went wrong at various points even when being self-critical. Through them you get to intimately know Yasser Arafat, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), as well as the numerous leaders representing Israel to various degrees of volatility.

The most promising period of time was in the early days of negotiations between Arafat and Israeli prime minister Yitzchak Rabin. The documentary does not simply try to understand why these powers did not bend to the will of the United States, but rather gets to the heart of each side’s position. The concept of the word “peace” itself is debated by Galal Hamel, an Arabic interpreter and Middle East envoy who views such terms as very narrow-minded when approaching such a delicate topic. Arafat was not seeking peace as we know it; he wanted to succeed in securing an outcome that would bring honor and respect to his people. The exact terms of the negotiations almost take a backseat to how the leaders are feeling in any particular moment. There is a razor-thin line to tiptoe to ensure neither side feels manipulated or disrespected, and this task is made even more difficult when the film details how exactly the United States was not unbiased when talking with these leaders.

The documentary is not without moments of levity to keep things from getting overly bleak. Details about initial meetings sound downright ridiculous as you hear what these men had to arrange to make sure both sides would cooperate. That the White House would have to coordinate a maneuver to make sure Arafat would not kiss Rabin is a detail that does fail to delight. The fact that a meeting nearly did not happen at all because of certain wardrobe choices tells you how tenuous every situation could be. Still, you get behind-the-scenes details about the growing mutual respect between these two that keeps you hopeful for common ground. Minor moments of friendly banter between one another points towards a brighter future, and even private details such as one’s love of The Golden Girls helps them feel more than just a name from history. If you are not deeply familiar with world politics, certain events may even feel like a shocking plot turn. Every time there is a light at the end of the tunnel, something inevitably comes out of nowhere to disrupt the flow.

The subjects are very clear in their explanation of the larger impact each new development had in the overall negotiation. The numerous shifts in power for Israel also come with wildly different approaches to the concept of achieving peace. If we were to only rely on headlines from these years of constant setbacks, you may believe that either country was rejecting peace out of hand instead of saying no to a negotiation where one country was clearly trying to act in bad faith. Moreh does not act as a passive interviewer throughout this feature; the filmmaker can be heard sporadically asking very pointed questions which force the subjects to face the tough truth. A question about the inherent biases of a bunch of Jewish men leading these negotiations has the men talking in circles, and concurrent peace talks with Syria which put Arafat in a position of feeling disrespected showcases a failure in decision-making.

This political puzzle is one that will not be solved anytime soon; in the waning moments of the film we zip through the past couple of decades of failed negotiations. This film was completed before the election, but thankfully it devotes precious little time to the hubris of Trump believing he could close a deal that far smarter men have been wrestling with behind-the-scenes for decades. The Human Factor is not a partisan film; Moreh is less interested in laying any blame at the feet of a particular political party. Instead, he aims to show how our overall outlook on the situation should probably be expanded beyond binary terms of “conflict” and “peace.” The film is enlightening, thrilling and deeply frustrating, but in the end it is essential to understanding a major part of our world.

Video Quality

The Human Factor comes to Blu-Ray in its original 1.78:1 aspect ratio from a gorgeous high definition master. The film mostly consists of new interviews with a substantial amount of archival footage and photos. The documentary footage looks as technically excellent as it can look in high definition. The transfer appears to have plenty of room to breathe and there are no issues with compression artifacts, banding or other digital nuisances. The footage of the older material seems to be the best version of it that would be possible, with most of it looking at least decent. Interview segments look sleek and clear with natural skin tones and detailed facial features. The colors featured in the film are natural and vibrant as they provide a nice visual pop on screen. Black levels are appropriately deep and give way to a nice amount of detail in shadows. I do not see how this set could have been improved visually. It’s a beautiful transfer handled with care by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray comes with a stellar DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that captures this story perfectly. Dialogue is the driving force of the film, and it comes through crisp and clear without being clipped by any competing sounds. The filmmakers do a really great job of capturing their subjects and making sure all this information comes through with supreme clarity. The subtly beautiful score establishes the mood of the film, and it is resolved well here as it fills the room. Environmental sounds are limited but what is there is replicated perfectly. You could not have asked for a better audio presentation for this one. There are optional English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles included for those who desire them.

Special Features

Trailer: The two-and-a-half minute trailer is provided for the film.

Final Thoughts

The Human Factor is an endlessly engaging and enlightening look at one of the most complex political negotiations of our time. The film plays more like a thriller than a history lesson, and director Dror Moreh does a deft job of making sure all of the nuances are easily understandable. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray with a stellar A/V presentation but not much in the way of special features. Interest in this may not extend far beyond those already intrigued by the subject, but it is a feature that would benefit anyone who wants to be a little more aware of an important part of our global politics. Recommended

The Human Factor is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.