Göttliche Intervention - Eine Chronik von Liebe und Schmerz

Set in the segregated world of checkpoints and bombings of the Middle East, two lovers are separated - one living in Jerusalem, the other in Ramallah. Despite the threats posed by bombings and shootings, and the deterrents of the checkpoints, the two arrange secret meetings.

I have done it too, so I won't make too big a deal out of it; but too many of us doff our caps at the sight of a foreign film, too many reviews are very forgiving of flaws foreign films that we would go to town on in a western film. That appears to be the case here, reviewers seem to have sat down looking for `a deep film that will touch them' and that is what they have found - and in doing so they fall for much of the film's forced pretension. The plot is very difficult to describe and it is not easily forgotten - I found it very difficult to get into it simply because it was episodic and lacking a flow to it; it is more interested in delivering metaphors and symbolism that don't necessarily work that well.

I, like many, do not and cannot ever hope to fully understand what life is like in this part of the world; therefore I was not able to get the meaning or, if there were any, the jokes. I have lived the vast majority of my life in a world of terrorism and check points - but this film is more specific than that general experience. However, for me the film was still too shrouded in mystery and `deep' scenes - long scenes pass without dialogue; the camera stares at a road for minute after minute and so on - it smacks of a film trying too hard to be arty and pretentious. This wouldn't be too bad if it had worked - but, for me, it simply didn't do anything. Some of it I'm sure is daring, and I wanted to find the Power Rangers style moment funny - but the tone of the film stopped it working.

As far as characters, the film barely tries - the focus being `meaningful' swipes and jokes. Five minutes after the film ended I could barely recall character names - and there wasn't really an attempt to develop people within this smugly smart piece.

Overall, if you know the area and are willing to work past all this film's flaws then you may get something from this. However, the curious audience looking to be helped through the film or just looking for something interesting will likely be left as cold, disinterested and poorly served as I was.

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

"Divine Intervention" is not a perfect film. Certain scenes go on too long. Some of the metaphors and symbolism are overdone and over-emphasized, and I'm still not sure how I feel about a crucial scene towards the end of the film, but overall when registering my vote for the film I, again, simply couldn't vote less than 10. It's hard to do so with such a unique film, and one which I feel is quite important and special, regardless of my own personal connection to the film and its subjects (like most of my father's family the filmmaker is a Palestinian Christian from Nazareth).

The film's tone is one of detached, bitter irony. It's an absurdist look at the conflict, at life under Israeli occupation. A far cry from many Palestinian (or Israeli) films, especially the likes of "Paradise Now" (a great film in its own right), with their emphasis on examining the conflict itself, the solutions available and the morality of the actions taken by desperate people on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides, "Divine Intervention" is ultimately about minor miseries and absurdities, an uncanny portrayal of the mundane, monotonous nature of living in Palestine- you're always at a checkpoint, even if you're not actually at one.

Checkpoints play a big part in the film. So do hands, eyes, footballs, balloons, post-it notes, Israeli authority figures, colorful language, and various other things. The opening half of the film is largely in a classic comedy tradition: sight gag after sight gag, with some uproariously (as far as I'm concerned) hilarious exchanges of dialogue, sadly some of this is lost in translation, but the film's humor is so overwhelmingly visual that this doesn't matter so much. The first time I saw the film some of the jokes didn't work for me and some did. Three viewings later it's easily one of the most satisfying comedies around.

The film's latter half is more intent on surreal, symbolic imagery. Imagery which retains the bitter irony and absurdist tendencies of the first half, but will surely be harder to swallow for most, especially as some of it can easily be misunderstood and misinterpreted. The more ambitious set-pieces are also more visually problematic, with dated CGI mixing with Suleiman's wonderful portraits of Jerusalem.

Most of the film's flaws are still in sequences I wouldn't dream of cutting out of the film. These scenes don't have the perfect timing and delivery of the comedy in the first half, which is much more subtle in its metaphorical and symbolic value than the latter half, but the film wouldn't work without them. It's a very odd film to say the least, and while I can complain about certain things I wouldn't have any suggestions on how to make them better.

"Divine Intervention" remains one of very, very few films to really capture what it means to be Palestinian and to have a Palestinian mindset. More interestingly the film is almost entirely from the perspective of Christians (I don't believe hijab is seen at any point in the film), eliminating the ever-present Jews vs. Muslims debate and focusing on Palestinian identity and Palestinian life. As a document of Palestinian life, absurd yet believable and shockingly realistic, it is invaluable. Yet the film achieves more. It has depth. It works as a comedy first and foremost, but always has significance and importance, something more to say.

The film is, ultimately, a collection of sketches, but they're brought together so well into a fairly cohesive whole that I can't understand the complaints about this aspect of the film. Some of the scenes are absolute classics, unforgettable even. The film has a wonderful visual sensibility, Suleiman's detachment extending beyond the writing and perspective to his camera which views these lives from a distance, static and observant, letting things play out against strikingly beautiful shots of Nazareth and Jerusalem. When Suleiman does go for motion it's for good reason. These shots tend to be ambitious and crucially important and are consistently well-realized by him and his crew.

Something of a forgotten film, opening to mixed reviews and an extremely limited run in North America, "Divine Intervention" remains one of the most deserving Jury Prize winners at Cannes. It's not surprising that the Europeans were more receptive, it's just a shame that this movie is such a tough sell to fellow North Americans, even film buffs, mostly because it's so relatively unheard of. Too bad, it's really great.

The problem in the Middle East is very complex and not black & white. To make a film about the ongoing war between two tribes who have the same forefathers and have to share a piece of land is not easy!! The only way, in my opinion, to make a film about it, is to make it light and transparent. And that is exactly what Elia Suleiman does. Absurd scenes (the Palestinian beauty who turns into a Ninja and destroy the acrobatic Israeli marksmen), but also very subtil stories about Palestinians who make life miserable for each other in the Occupied terretories. He uses several biblical symbols (eating eggs, killing a snake) and uses repetition to show how life gets by when you're living like subhumans. My cup of tea!!

Given my fascination with the modern tragedy of the Palestinian's predicament, I thus was very willing to like Divine Intervention. But ultimately, this was a case of lofty ideals blinding the basic craft of good cinema.

The real life issues (Israeli Occupation of Palestinian lands/ Oppression of the Palestinian people) genuinely demands our attention and worthy concerns. And from what I have read, believed they were better explored in other non-fiction documentaries like "A Wedding in Ramallah" or "Gaza strip".

Which was a real pity. As Divine Intervention, being a fictional feature, could have achieved a dramatic potential and political resonance far wider than above-mentioned works. Instead, what I have seen was a painfully average work of an aspiring auteur, who harboured artistic ambition beyond his reach.

Yes, the themes explored may be noble and the real life issues behind the film may even be deemed absurd, ironic and ultimately tragic. But first and foremost, Divine Intervention needed to be judged as a film. However "holy" the subject matter, our sympathies for the real life issues need not compensate for what can seen so clearly as poor execution and misdirection. As such, as a film, it didn't work for me.

Granted, there may be brilliant parts of surreal beauty (the Santa Claus and Ninja sequence comes to mind). But ultimately these vignettes of uneven quality are marred by the glaring failure of its disjointed, disengaging whole. It's sophomoric metaphors and monotonous, pseudo artistic rythms, left me cold and empty.

Amazing really, how a film can show so much promise yet fails so miserably. That said, I'll still give it a passing 6/10 for some truly inspired moments. But that's about it.