Chronik eines Verschwindens

Elia Suleiman returns to his home after a long absence, and gives a portrait of the society he left behind - that of Israeli Palestinians living among Jewish Israelis in Israel. Suleiman's Israeli Palestinians are somewhat miserable, squabbling people who seem to be accustomed or accepting of this fate. His Israelis are racist and his Israeli security forces are dumb and dumber. Jewish Tel Aviv and Palestinians Jericho, visited during his trip, receive so little attention, as to attest to their insignificance. Instead, its all about Jerusalem, where the two societies collide head on. As in Divine Intervention (which came out later) - the Palestinians receive some redemption only in fantasy. The scene where a Palestinian woman manages to rid Jerusalem of Israeli policing forces by use of a walkie talkie was pure brilliance. There are other brilliant scenes in this movie - however, the film does not flow and never really follows a set rhythm. However, it is highly recommended for those scenes that attest to the directors brilliance

First of all, let's get one thing straight....I love foreign films. I even love Iranian films (at least I loved Colours of Paradise). And yet I didn't think I would ever get through this movie and it's not that long. I would have no idea what it was about if I hadn't read the back of the box.

In brief, the "movie" consists of a long series of interminable vignettes, usually with no dialogue, no character development, and no point. Every 20 minutes or so (seems like longer), there is an actual scene with some interesting characters who for the most part are not heard from again. Then there's some nonsense about a Palestinian woman who gets hold of a Police CB. I was looking forward to seeing a Palestinian film to see what a Palestinian director would have to say...Not necessarily about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (though that would be interesting too...) but about SOMETHING, damn it! This film was a huge disappointment. Don't watch it unless you are expecting a documentary, and a dull one at that.

My guess regarding all the props used in the film, is that is was created to break expectations of genres and stereotypes of Palestinians. We see a beautiful Arab woman unable to rent a flat in Jerusalem because others can tell over the phone that she is arab and not Israeli. We then see her with two men strapping wires around her, telling her where the remote is, and where to insert the powder. This turned out to be a fireworks display they were showing her. The viewer will also see things such as guns and grenades, which turn out to be lighters, Israeli police hastingly exiting a van with their rifles and lining up against a wall so they can all pee together next to each other. Our main character, the director, is somehow unable or chooses not to speak in this film. After coming back from NYU, Suileman is supposed to return to Palestine to present a film about peace, and is unable to speak, or is never given the chance to even when on a podium. Long takes, long moments of silence, and constant humored dialog and dashed expectations are what makes this mysterious film. Theres a mix of languages, including Arabic, English, French, Russian, and Hebrew. So many things about it, a college course could be taught on it. This is not the film you want to see if you are looking for propaganda, rather it falls more into the art film realm.

Do you think it's easy to make a film about palestino-israelian relationships which is not full of violence, hate and bitterness ? Well, Elia Suleiman did it. His camera is his eye, and he is just not commenting what he is seeing (how could one comment the Middle East ?)But his silence is eloquent enough ! Dear Dzong from Washington, we're not more in the Middle Ages, and today, a piece of art doesn't necessary need characters and dialogues to be valuable and beautiful. This is a film full of a kind of a nostalgy, a longing for a lost peace, a walk in a someone's childhood. I found it excellent.

When I saw this at the National Film Theatre on the South Bank, I was a bit nervous, because I knew nothing of the film and had invited three friends (all of us filmmakers). Afterwards they all thanked me for bringing them--we had laughed through the entire movie, with the whole audience. The film is largely composed of seemingly unrelated comedy sketches. The comedy is very simple, often physical, sometimes surrealist. Every joke is funny. The film is a poignant comment on the Israeli Occupation of Palestine, but made before the New Intifada, so there is not the gravity of Suleiman's celebrated 'Divine Intervention.' Please see this film, it's absolutely wonderful.