This page is to obtain access to the Sands Films Cinema Club presentation ONLINE
To attend in person, please CLICK HERE
*
Divine Intervention
A brilliant satirical comedy, Elia Suleiman’s Divine Intervention: A Chronicle of Love and Pain (Yadon ilaheyya) addresses the curbed and combustible lives of Palestinians and Israelis living in territories occupied by the Israeli army. As many have noted, the witty vignettes that Suleiman—a Christian Arab Israeli—strings together, with a spot of blackout between each consecutive two, have about them a palpable air of the sensibility of Jacques Tati’s comedies, although, disingenuously, Suleiman denies familiarity with Tati’s films. The elliptical and (mostly) materialistic style of the film, however, suggests as another influence Robert Bresson, familiarity with whose work Suleiman does admit to. The film also references The Red Balloon and The Matrix, and its splendid use of observant long-shots also attests to Abbas Kiarostami’s influence. The film is nothing short of astonishing in its capacity to absorb all these influences while yet retaining freshness and originality. Divine Intervention won the jury prize at Cannes in 2002.
Dennis Grunes
We continue fundraising for MAP.
Santa Claus tries to outrun a gang of knife-wielding youth. It's one of several vignettes of Palestinian life in Israel - in a neighborhood in Nazareth and at Al-Ram checkpoint in East Jerusalem. Most of the stories are droll, some absurd, one is mythic and fanciful; few words are spoken. A man who goes through his mail methodically each morning has a heart attack. His son visits him in hospital. The son regularly meets a woman at Al-Ram; they sit in a car, hands caressing. Once, she defies Israeli guards at the checkpoint; later, Ninja-like, she takes on soldiers at a target range. A red balloon floats free overhead. Neighbors toss garbage over walls. Life goes on until it doesn't.
- Year:
- 2002
- Runtime:
- 92 minutes
- Language:
- English, Arabic, Hebrew
- Director:
- Elia Suleiman
- Screenwriter:
- Elia Suleiman
- Producer:
- Humbert Balsan
- Co-Producer:
- Rémi Burah, Joachim Ortmanns, Elia Suleiman
- Cast:
- Elia Suleiman, Manal Khader, George Ibrahim
- Cinematographer:
- Marc-André Batigne
- Editor:
- Véronique Lange
- Production Design:
- Miguel Markin, Denis Renault
This page is to obtain access to the Sands Films Cinema Club presentation ONLINE
To attend in person, please CLICK HERE
*
Divine Intervention
A brilliant satirical comedy, Elia Suleiman’s Divine Intervention: A Chronicle of Love and Pain (Yadon ilaheyya) addresses the curbed and combustible lives of Palestinians and Israelis living in territories occupied by the Israeli army. As many have noted, the witty vignettes that Suleiman—a Christian Arab Israeli—strings together, with a spot of blackout between each consecutive two, have about them a palpable air of the sensibility of Jacques Tati’s comedies, although, disingenuously, Suleiman denies familiarity with Tati’s films. The elliptical and (mostly) materialistic style of the film, however, suggests as another influence Robert Bresson, familiarity with whose work Suleiman does admit to. The film also references The Red Balloon and The Matrix, and its splendid use of observant long-shots also attests to Abbas Kiarostami’s influence. The film is nothing short of astonishing in its capacity to absorb all these influences while yet retaining freshness and originality. Divine Intervention won the jury prize at Cannes in 2002.
Dennis Grunes
We continue fundraising for MAP.
Santa Claus tries to outrun a gang of knife-wielding youth. It's one of several vignettes of Palestinian life in Israel - in a neighborhood in Nazareth and at Al-Ram checkpoint in East Jerusalem. Most of the stories are droll, some absurd, one is mythic and fanciful; few words are spoken. A man who goes through his mail methodically each morning has a heart attack. His son visits him in hospital. The son regularly meets a woman at Al-Ram; they sit in a car, hands caressing. Once, she defies Israeli guards at the checkpoint; later, Ninja-like, she takes on soldiers at a target range. A red balloon floats free overhead. Neighbors toss garbage over walls. Life goes on until it doesn't.
- Year:
- 2002
- Runtime:
- 92 minutes
- Language:
- English, Arabic, Hebrew
- Director:
- Elia Suleiman
- Screenwriter:
- Elia Suleiman
- Producer:
- Humbert Balsan
- Co-Producer:
- Rémi Burah, Joachim Ortmanns, Elia Suleiman
- Cast:
- Elia Suleiman, Manal Khader, George Ibrahim
- Cinematographer:
- Marc-André Batigne
- Editor:
- Véronique Lange
- Production Design:
- Miguel Markin, Denis Renault