Sam Henry

COM 305

Prof. Lucido

17th November 2023

The Holly

Julian Rubenstein vividly captures a creative non-fiction narrative on decreasing gang

violence through his film "The Holly." A compelling news article convinced Rubenstein to fly

from New York to Denver to investigate and report on this particular story. Terrance Roberts

becomes the protagonist and center of the story about Roberts, making news of the shooting of

young Hasan Munch during a peace rally he had arranged himself. This incident sparks a three-

part series organized by Rubenstein. Two parts are in the form of a novel, and the third part is

a documentary. Roberts becomes a symbol of positive change within the Denver community.

He brings life experiences as a former gang member to the story and a personal perspective of

how it took a toll on his life.

Terrance wants permanent change that decreases gang violence by taking on the job of

an anti-gang activist. It is hard to make a statement that can be the answer to all these people's

problems and still connect the concept as controversial as gang violence and homicides in the

community. The film shows us dirty cops, individuals making matters worse, and the death of

young kids. Rubenstein vividly captures the complexity of these problems and records

interviews of these individuals, giving us a different perspective.

Nick Redfern illustrates an example of this perspective about film style and narration in

Rashomon. The complex event captures the central premise of the movie, of the brutal attack

of the husband and wife. The basis of the story describes three perspectives, telling three

different accounts. In Rashomon's reading about the conflict between the thief and the wife,

telling two other stories can be compared to Terrance and Carl McKay in the film fighting from

two different sides, with one failing to help. Carl McKay was continuing to bring problems to his

community and was charged with possession of drugs, pleading guilty, and facing twenty years

in prison.

This film has provided us with a look into current problems in our society today.

Rubenstein shows this in his movie using an implementation of realism. We can see this once

the events of Terrance's peace rally turn bad. He is making Terrance's life a living hell, making

him fight for his life. There is a powerful scene in the movie where Terrence talks with his

lawyer and asks him to fight for his life. Terrance knows everything he did, and he did it for a

reason and protection of himself and the people. Due to Terrence's experiences, he was able to

be the voice for his community. These shots of realism tie very well with Phillip Mosley's article

on the Dardenne Brothers' movie The Kid with a Bike. Images of the film stage events produce

real emotion for the viewers. In Rubenstein's film, the director depicted an escalation of

Terrance's life in "The Holly." A pivotal scene in the movie is when Terrance is going up in the

elevator to the courtroom about to hear his verdict, and he looks at his crew and friends,

saying, "Ain’t no matter what happens to me, you got to admit, we did a lot of work.” The

people who are part of the Holly Square community demonstrate scenes of realism.
 A specific piece in the documentary shows three young kids who are gang members and

are rapping on camera for Rubenstein. A few seconds later, it shows that all three of those kids

have passed away from gang violence. Rubenstein explained that they could not confirm one

of the kid's passing.

This film is the perfect facilitator for stopping gang violence nationwide. Even though

this was a current problem in a substantial area of Denver, This movie can act as a change for

many. Rubenstein compares Terrance to a new coming of Malcolm X or Martin Luther King.

Terrance Roberts is making a difference for the greater good of his community to help people in

need.
 Work Cited

Mosley, Philip. "The Cinema of the Dardenne Brothers: Responsible Realism." OUP Academic,
Oxford University Press, 19th March. 2013, academic.oup.com/columbia-scholarship-
online/book/18887.

Redfern, Nick. "Film style and narration in Rashomon.” Journal of Japanese and Korean
Cinema, vol. 5, no. 1–2, 2013, pp. 21–36,
https://doi.org/10.1080/17564905.2013.10820070.

The Holly. Directed by Rubenstein, Julian, Performances by Terrance Roberts, 2022