The Time That Remains
Elia Suleiman is the kind of artist who demonstrates, more than anyone, cinema’s ability to transform a specific territory and geopolitical space (Palestine) into an open-air theater where drama and comedy emerge. In his films, every movements, camera motion, and situations points to a single idea: in a given place, everyday life is both unbearable and real, pushed to the brink of absurdity.
The Time That Remains is a partly autobiographical film, based on the private diaries of Elia Suleiman's father. It is built around four key moments in his family's life, from 1948 to the present day. Suleiman also interweaves his own memories to depict the daily reality of Palestinians who have remained in their homeland, living as a minority in their own country.
Elia Suleiman
Elia Suleiman is a Palestinian film director, screenwriter and actor. He is best known for the 2002 film Divine Intervention, a modern tragicomedy on living under occupation in Palestine, which won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. This film is the second of Suleiman’s autobiographical Palestine trilogy that also includes Chronicle of a Disappearance (1996) and The Time That Remains (2009). Suleiman's cinematic style is often compared to that of Jacques Tati and Buster Keaton, for its poetic interplay between burlesque and sobriety.
Photo: Maison 4:3
