Cinema Dérive - THE TIME THAT REMAINS (2009)
THE TIME THAT REMAINS
Directed by Elia Suleiman
109 minutes
In Arabic and Hebrew, with English subtitles
A movie on the issue of the Palestinian struggle for survival can easily become grimly realistic because of the harshness of the situation. Therefore, it's amazing that Palestinian director Elia Suleiman can knock it out of the park with his very special approach to filmmaking that I would call 'passive observer surrealism'... and the director himself calls it a state of 'present absentee'. His movies can be dreamy, but they're always rooted very deep in real human experiences.
This one is almost epic in scope, covering Palestinian history from 1948 until the turn of the century, told through the lives of a single family. It is largely autobiographical, based on the director's own ancestral history. It begins by focusing on Fuad, who is a resistance fighter during the Nakba as Palestinians are violently forced off their land. During the turmoil, he is separated from the woman he loves. His story continues under Israeli occupation in the city of Nazareth, and has a son named Elia. The film is full of irony, pathos, beauty, insights and humor... yet it is never irreverent.
Despite its righteous message, it's also a masterpiece just in terms of cinema. It's a film of memories that traces a history. It's thoughtful, and far more intelligent than what most movie-goers are used to these days. Americans ridiculously compare this movie to Wes Anderson, but the director himself cites Jean-Luc Godard, Robert Bresson, and Yasujirū Ozu as his influences.
The cinematography flares, it's bright and illuminating, and there's a deep poetry running through the entire film. What a crime that a movie as crucial as this is screened so little.
