Yadon ilaheyya (2002)

Director:

Elia Suleiman

Writer:

Elia Suleiman (writer)

Release Date:

2 October 2002 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War | Comedy

Plot:

Separated by a checkpoint, Palestinian lovers from Jerusalem and Ramallah arrange clandestine meetings.

Plot Keywords:

Checkpoint | Jerusalem | Balloon | Mail | Hospital

Awards:

6 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Elia Suleiman	...	E.S.
Manal Khader	...	Woman
George Ibrahim	...	Santa Clause
Amer Daher	...	Auni
Jamel Daher	...	Jamal
Lufuf Nuweiser	...	Neighbor with American van
Read Masarweh	...	Abu Basil
Bassem Loulou	...	Abu Amer
Salvia Nakkara	...	Adia
Naaman Jarjoura	...	Uncle
Rama Nashashibi	...	Um Elias
Saiman Natour	...	Friend
Fairos Hakim	...	Bus stop shopkeeper
Khalil Jarjoura	...	Number 6 man
Hamada Shamout	...	Basil

Also Known As:

Chronicle of Love and Pain
D.I.
Divine Intervention
Göttliche Intervention - Eine Chronik von Liebe und Schmerz (Germany)
Intervention divine (France)

Runtime:

92 min | France:100 min (Cannes Film Festival)

Country:

France | Morocco | Germany | Palestine

Language:

Arabic | Hebrew | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Denmark:7 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

East Jerusalem, Palestine

Company:

Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen

Trivia:

Chosen by "Telerama" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 2002 (#04)

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: At the border, when several cars are told to turn around, the camera is reflected in the side of the cars for several seconds.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Humbert Balsan, producteur rebelle (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Les Kid Nappeurs

Many People Are Missing The Point

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