Divine Intervention(2002)
dir. Elia Suleiman
Deadpan comedy at a checkpoint.
Where to watch: Free on Kanopy with library cardLetterboxd ↗
A string of deadpan vignettes from Nazareth and an Israeli checkpoint on the edge of Jerusalem, held together by a silent observer (played by Suleiman himself) and a love story that can only happen in a parked car. The film replaces plot with absurd tableaux, from petty neighbor feuds to a ninja-style fantasy of resistance. It won the Jury Prize at Cannes.
Why it’s here
Suleiman does what a lot of political films can't: makes you laugh at occupation without ever letting you forget it. What's punk is that the satire punches up, at a checkpoint regime that turns everyday movement into a daily humiliation, without turning Palestinians into saints or statistics. What's pedagogical is that the humor teaches you how the system works from the inside, and the Academy ruling it ineligible for the Foreign Language Oscar because Palestine wasn't a recognized country tells you plenty on its own.
Where This Film Lives
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