Juxtaposing comedy and tragedy, Palestinian writer-director Elia Suleiman's episodic film is a surrealistically piercing protest against what the filmmaker sees as the brutal oppression of his people at Israeli hands. Serving up an attack laced with humor rather than bullets or bombs, the film isn't presented in a conventional narrative, but rather as a series of artful sketches that portray the helplessness and futility that Palestinians feel under what they perceive as foreign occupation. The repeated romantic liaisons of a Palestinian couple (the man played by sad-faced Suleiman) near an Israeli watchtower, and the same fellow's problematic hospital visits to his father (which act as a microcosm of the political situation) serve as a linking device, but most of Divine Intervention is devoted to largely wordless, unconnected vignettes, mainly depicting how Palestinians abuse one another in their inarticulate rage at the state of affairs. One hallucinatory revenge sequence (in which a painted target for Israeli sharpshooters turns into a Matrix-style female ninja who dispatches all the gunmen) falls rather flat, but despite the occasional stumble, the film bristles with originality. Whether you agree with its political premises or not, viewers will find it difficult to deny the movie's satiric punch. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include an interview with director Elia Suleiman (42 min.) and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a solid foreign film.] (F. Swietek)
Divine Intervention
Koch Lorber, 90 min., in Arabic w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.99, July 12 Volume 20, Issue 4
Divine Intervention
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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