The Time that Remains

The Time That Remains

Elia Suleiman is a talented writer and director. He also stars in this film. After the film I felt the need to discuss what I had just seen. Several members of the audience started to talk about it trying to make meaning of what we had seen.

Elia Suleiman was born in Nazareth. The film is largely auto-biographical. We watch him grow up from a young boy to a man living in Nazareth.

There is so much humor. At the same time you feel the frustration of the people living there.

I loved the scenes of life in Nazareth. How else could I get to be part of that scene? The men sit around sipping coffee in the outdoors. We see the struggle of the people and sense their futility. The cinematography beautifully shows the hills and terrain. It was interesting to see the homes and the way of life. He obviously grew up in a middle class home.

We meet Elia as a young school boy. He seemed to be in constant trouble for speaking out against the United States. His father was an arms dealer.

The arms dealers were often captured by members of the Israeli army. We see a scene with the prisoners blindfolded and made to sit in an open field. A nun walks around offering sips of water.

There is a lot of humor even though this is a serious topic. In one scene a group of Israeli soldiers were chasing some Arabs suspected of carrying arms. The Arabs throw down their headgear as they make their escape. The Israeli soldiers put on the headgear and march into the village pretending to be Arab soldiers. All the people were wearing karchi shorts and shirts and you couldn’t tell them apart.

In another scene the Arab mayor is asked to come and sign a paper in the town hall. He is then asked to be in a picture with the Israeli leaders. There is so much irony throughout.

I had to ask myself what was the point of the film. It seems as if Suleiman is showing the lack of progress in making positive change and the futility of war

One neighbor continues to douse himself with gasoline and threatens to light a match. Neighbors rescue him every time.

. It was quite hilarious to watch the large tank with the giant gun posted in a quiet street. A young boy comes out of his house to deposit garbage. The gun is trained on him and follows him as he crosses the street and then goes back to his house.

There is some obvious change in the young people living in Nazareth. One scene depicts the youth at a dance. The modern music is playing and they are dancing away ( boys and girls together) A jeep drives up outside and a speaker keeps blasting that it is curfew time. The young dancers completely ignore the repeated announcements.

In the end we see Suleiman as an adult. He pole vaults over the fence separating the Israeli towns and the Arab territory. We see him sitting in a cab. It was interesting when the cab driver gets lost and says,” Where am I?” I think that was the point of the whole film.

Elia is a great story teller. He knows that his approach reaches the mind better than a horrific scene that ‘hits you over the head.’ It is in many ways a gentle film. The points are well made. The humor helps to make the point.