Divine Intervention (2002)

A comic tragic love story set in the midst of long term occupation of Palestine...with the beautiful dead-pan of protagonist/director Elia Suleiman. A film that integrates into one's neurons and gut, makes one laugh out loud and sigh with

despair...nearly all at the same time! I've watched this film so many times, never tiring of its "under your skin" connection even at the most absurd moments. I began watching it with a Western analytical approach but soon learned that this story MUST be appreciated slowly from the heart and soul..it then seeps into all the pours and cells to a clarity that only a "parable" could deliver. A superb soundtrack!

This movie certainly makes its points in dramatic (i.e. tragic and humorous) fashion. Most of the people in this movie repeat the same, monotonous deeds every single day, always with the same stoic, blank expressions. Their lives have been so affected by the terrible situation of life in Israel and Palestine that they have become inured to its heartrending circumstance. The filmmaker uses humor to absurdly illustrate how inhumane the entire situation is: drivers are forced at the checkpoint (and at gunpoint) to arbitrarily trade cars with one another, merely on the whim of one of the checkpoint guards. They are berated verbally and treated as children or animals, simply for wanting to access a certain destination. Familiar though it all is, we want to cry over these indignities; yet, the way the film is made we are given permission to laugh at the absurdity of it. Two elderly men sit silently and passively as an eccentric man defends his house from neighbors by creating a pothole to halt his car. The apparent apathy the two elderly men display belies what the two have undoubtedly experienced during their lifetimes. None of this surprises them, nor does it compare to the worst they have seen. My guess would be their attitude appears to mirror that of the filmmaker. The director seems to have moved beyond feeling angered by the situation to a feeling of despair. Perhaps this is why the only resistance in the film takes the form of either humor or fantasy. No point in fighting. No realistic hope to overcome. Life is futile. Only thing to do is laugh. Although I enjoyed watching the film, it took quite some time for me to adjust my viewing style to that of the film. I am so used to the instant gratification and transparency of most US and western world films; this film takes it time in making its points and makes the viewer work a little for the rewards it does offer. It is so deliberate that after a while I began to wonder if it would ever get around to making a point, yet it left me thinking about it afterward and liking it more and more as I did. While probably not for everyone, I would recommend this film for those seeking something entirely substantially different. Not very many extras on the DVD, though there is an interview with the director and the transfer is very good.

Everyone (wether he/she is pro Palestine or pro israel) should watch this movie. With the exception of few scenes, the movie reflects the daily life of Palestinians under the israeli occupation.

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