Divine Intervention

Theatrical Release Date: 2003 01 17 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 741952307594

Studio: Koch Lorber Films

Summary: Director Elia Suleiman uses a mixture of romantic comedy and quirky humor to shed light on the problems of Palestinians in Yadon Ilaheyya (Divine Intervention). E.S. (Suleiman and his girlfriend Manal Khader), because they live in separate cities, must meet near an Israeli checkpoint. The film is little more than a series of usually comic but occasionally poignant scenes in which Suleiman and others must confront any number of Israeli nemeses. Suleiman's second film, Divine Interventions, was screened in competition at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Category: Comedy Drama

Awards: Best Non-European Film – Screen International Jury Prize – Cannes Film Festival

Features: US and French theatrical trailers
Director's interview

Divine Intervention

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 07/12/2005

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 90 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Subtitles: English

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. Santa [8:33]
2. Property Dispute [7:25]
3. Bad Neighbors [7:12]
4. Closing Up Shop [7:43]
5. Pit Bomb [6:50]
6. Checkpoint Rendezvous [9:56]
7. Father Falls Sick [7:45]
8. "I Am Crazy Because I Love You" [11:38]
9. Waiting [9:35]
10. Ninja [12:25]
11. End Credits [4:00]

Josh Ralske

Elia Suleiman's Divine Intervention is a mordantly amusing black comedy about life among the Arab citizens of Israel. The film makes excellent use of Suleiman's uniquely attenuated style of slapstick humor. It begins auspiciously, in Nazareth, where Santa Claus (George Ibrahim) is pursued by a gang of Palestinian kids. Chased up a hill, wheezing and dropping presents from his sack, Santa turns to face his attackers, revealing a butcher knife sticking out of his chest. With this darkly comic opening, Suleiman subverts a conventional cinematic narrative trope (his chase sequence is hilariously accomplished), and fulfills a personal revenge fantasy while delineating the vast chasm between the historical significance of Nazareth, the contemporary manifestation of its religious significance, and its current reality. Eschewing any sort of linear narrative, Suleiman goes on to illustrate his neighbors' tragicomic disregard for each other, in what can clearly be seen as metaphor for the current state of Arab-Israeli relations. His film also ventures into fantasy as the director himself appears, inadvertently blowing up an Israeli tank with a peach pit, using a helium balloon affixed with the image of Yasser Arafat to send an Israeli checkpoint into panic, and having precisely choreographed checkpoint trysts with a woman (Manal Khader) who turns out to be some kind of commando-slaying ninja assassin. Divine Intervention could be seen as a continuation of Suleiman's previous feature, Chronicle of a Disappearance, but the tone here is darker, inflected with mourning that is both personal (the death of the filmmaker's father) and political (the worsening of Mideast "tensions"). Divine Intervention makes few concessions to audience expectations, and some may be put off by the film's lugubrious pace, while others may be offended by Suleiman's symbolic violence. But the film remains an invaluably trenchant and timely look at the region it depicts. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Humbert Balsan  Producer 
Elia Suleiman  Director 
Elia Suleiman  Screenwriter 
Elia Suleiman  Actor 
Manal Khader  Actor 
Nayef Fahoum Daher  Actor 
George Ibrahim  Actor 
George Khleifi  Actor 
Avi Kleinberger  Actor 

Country: France,Germany,Morocco