Divine Intervention (2002)
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 the 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.
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Very disappointed :(
Pretty Good
Overrated
The movie really just wants to entertain people.
I remember seeing a clip from this film which involved Palestinians at a roadblock having to endure humiliation from the Israeli soldiers manning it . The scene then cuts to the Palestinian protagonist stopping his car beside a Jewish settler . I was expecting something to happen at this point but nothing did and decided to catch DIVINE INTERVENTION when it made an appearance at the Edinburgh filmhouse very recently to see if it made sense in a wider context I'll say one thing about Elia Suleiman and that is he know's how to hook an audience in to a story since this contains a truly memorable opening sequence where a much loved icon meets with some violence which will distress anyone who's hoping for some Christmas gifts . Unfortunately he's unable to continue the momentum of this and we quickly find ourselves in Michaelangelo Antonioni territory . It's been said that both Buster Keaton and Jacques Tati have influenced Suleiman but I believe Antonioni has a far more obvious effect . For example a character offers cigarettes to two other characters who then wave their hands in to shot showing that they are already holding lit cigarettes something the character would have been aware of but not the audience . Other examples would be the exploding tank which seems to have been inspired by ZABRASKIE POINT , or a character continually being told there's no bus as he stands at a bus stop and , but perhaps the most obvious example would be the ending involving a pressure cooker . Antonioni likes to irritate the audience with portent enigmas and Elia Suleiman has done the same here along with a few stylistic nods to Robert Bresson Unfortunately many people on this site and the handful of people in the audience of The Edinburgh Filmhouse seem to have misunderstood DIVINE INTERVENTION somewhat . This was most obvious during the discussion afterwards held by a distinguished epistemological film critic tried to concentrate on the ideas and influences behind the film and kept having the subject changed by useless idiots who were compelled to inform us all they knew about " fascist Israelis " and how the film didn't go far enough in " showing the brutality of the Israeli occupation " . Duh well it's not about the " brutality of the Israeli occupation " - it's about the absurdity of life under occupation and of the wider absurdity of everyday life . If you go and watch this film with a closed mind then you'll fail to understand it . DIVINE INTERVENTION isn't a great film but it's certainly one that can be appreciated by cinephilles rather more than mindless politicised idiots of what ever side of the Middle Eastern fence they're on
While during the film I was often a little baffled at the point of the montage, or wondering how it was all going to fit together at the end, by the time we got to the end I was absolutely amazed at this film.It occurred to me that perhaps this is not a film about the Palestine/Israel conflict, but rather a concept film that happens to be set in the Palestine/Israel conflict. But then I realized that saying that isn't giving the point of the film enough credit, either.I wonder if perhaps one needs to have seen the region first-hand in order to to truly understand this film- how Palestinians are forced to live, and make the best life for themselves as they can, what really goes on at checkpoints, how some Palestinians collaborate with Israeli authorities (if you didn't understand that the house that got hit with a Molotov cocktail and then sprayed with gunfire was the house of a collaborator, then perhaps that explains why you didn't understand the movie), the way the Israeli authorities use any means of control and how Palestinians resist that however they can (the scene where they fix the road, only to have the old man who was taken for questioning return to destroy the road).Besides that, however, I think this film is a feat of cinematography. The camera angles themselves are unique and brilliant, the sparse use of dialogue and the small montages full of symbolism and heavy with truisms give this film a beautiful and haunting feel. It will stay with me for a long, long time. The scene at the very end with the pressure cooker, and Amu saying "Turn it off, that's enough!" is how every Palestinian feels about living under Israeli occupation. Elia Suleiman gives us a rare chance to see that for ourselves- make sure you take it.
It is a difficult film to analyze. There are so many disconnected episodes. If the scenes are meant to be humorous, they are so subtle the humour escapes me. I am more aware of a feeling of frustration..of inactivity..of not being able to get things done. Not being an Arab or a Jew, I possibly see things differently...perhaps there is a funny side to senseless activities such as building a concrete wall and then smashing it down when it is solid.Greeting people in a friendly manner as you drive down a street and calling them the most abominable names under your breath is a form of humour I suppose...especially for the person involved. As for dumping garbage on a neighbour's property and then being upset when he chucks it back might be considered quirky humour.There is very little dialogue in this film, but much is made of the sound effects...the shoveling of wet concrete, the rattle of empty bottles. the sudden cessation of barking dogs. There is one character who says little but when he speaks he uses the number six in all his sentences. An interesting phenomenon for a psychiatrist but hardly hilarious.There is one scene I find more interesting, almost funny in fact. It concerns a red inflated party balloon with the head of Arafat printed on it. It floats about above the rooftops and is suddenly spied by soldiers at the checkpoint. They are so absorbed in the correct procedure to be followed that two lovers in a car go undetected through the checkpoint. This surely must be a strong case of divine intervention.There are a few interesting episodes with a degree of originality but equally there are some boring ones too when the characters remain static for far too long. If a sense of humour is required to provide a resolution of the long standing difficult Israeli-Palestinian relationship, I am afraid this film is not the one to do it.
This was a strange movie. When it came out in the theatres I never saw it. I had heard good things about it though so when I saw it on DVD at the rental store, I thought it would be a sure bet. But boy, were we surprised.I agree with some others here that it's hard to describe the movie. I also thought it was way too slow, and it would have worked as a short movie, not a 1h40' one. And laugh? Not once. I didn't think it was funny at all. Strange, yes, funny, no! To me the movie was a bit like a dance, modern ballet. As that, it could have been interesting, but I'm not sure it was interesting as a movie. Then, I had expected a movie that was subtle in depicting the Isreali-Palestinian conflict, some political correctness and some evidence of understanding 'the other side'. However, there was little of that! It was very pro-palestinian in not a very nuanced way.All in all, I think the idea was interesting but it was too long, and nothing happened in the beginning for a long long time. It was simply boring! ***** out of 10.