Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

This was one of the most dishonest, meaningless, and non-peaceful of the films I have ever seen. The representation of the other, of the Israelis, was racist, backward, and unfair. For one, the song played on E.S' car radio when pulled up alongside a very right-wing Israeli driver was "I put a spell on you" by Natacha Atlas. The song's style is quite Arabic, but it was released on an Israeli compilation CD, and I have even heard it on the radio in Israel. Many Israeli songs (as well as architecture, foods, and slang) are influenced by Arabic culture, and there is no reason an Israeli Jew would be offended or angered by a nearby car playing that song. The way E.S. appears so calm and collected with his sunglasses and cool glare, via a long, still shot, is meant to force the viewer into seeing the Jew as haggard and racist, and E.S. as noble and temperate.I have traveled all over Israel, and I have never seen an IDF recruitment poster, since service is mandatory. But in the film, not only is there a recruitment poster, but it depicts a stereotypical image of an Arab terrorist and the words "want to shoot?" This is an extremely inaccurate depiction of the mentality of the majority of Israelis as well as Israeli soldiers, and such an "advertisement" wouldn't even exist on a random Israeli highway. In including it, the director aims to convince the audience that Israel is a society of anti-Arab racists hell-bent on murder.The ninja scene was gratuitous and needlessly violent. A Hollywood-style action scene involving Israeli soldiers shooting Palestinians would be just as unwelcome in an Israeli-directed film as the ninja scene should have been. But for some reason, images of an unrealistic, non-comic, and violent scenario manage to elicit applause from the audience since the director has smeared the Israeli side so much beforehand, that any shot of Israeli soldiers being killed would be welcome. The director shows absolutely no attempt at building bridges, portraying the "other" as human, or working towards peace; violence is made to be the only solution. This is furthered by scenes of exploding tanks, falling guard towers, and other random acts of destruction. One of my best friends serves in the Israeli military, and the targets in firing ranges are never Arab women dressed in black, or any other quasi-civilian on canvas. Soldiers at checkpoints are instructed not to fire at the head of an approaching Palestinian unless it is clear that their own lives are in danger; the method, according to my friend, is to provide a warning shout, fire into the air or around the area, and then if all else fails, shoot in the leg and then interrogate and hospitalize. Arbitrarily targeting a woman in the head, as shown in the film, is not the proper procedure.Besides these inaccuracies, the directing style was also poor. Repetition became repetitious, and no longer captivating. Symbols, such as the balloon with Arafat drawn on it, are forced outside any plot structure or effective integration in the setting; the balloon is Palestine penetrating and regaining Jerusalem, and it is created for no reason by E.S. The ambulance being checked for permits by Israeli soldiers followed by subsequent Israeli ambulances flying past the checkpoint is an overly-overt claim of an Israeli double standard by the director. The attempt by the director to show life in Nazareth as dreary and pointless is done with overkill; showing the routines of random people over and over again, even with a slight change each time, and emphasizing that not one member of the cast ever smiles and is minimalist in dialogue almost screams out the purpose of such scenes, the dreariness of life, without allowing much room for personal interpretation. By contrasting one "section" of the movie, daily life in Nazareth, with the second section, the checkpoint between Ramallah and Israel, the director subtly blames this dreariness on Israel, but never provides any direct evidence as to why such blame can be properly argued.I spent hours trying to figure out why music ended abruptly and began abruptly, and why many modern fashion-show-like and metal-action tracks were included in the score. I still cannot come up with an answer. I felt that the music was out of place in this film; the contrast between more silent scenes and intense scenes was actually annoying and not affecting or thought-provoking. I can understand if the director intended for the music to provide some comic aspect to certain scenes, but I found that there was nothing comic to be found in Israeli soldiers shooting at targets or fighting a ninja, or a woman having to suffer another walk through a checkpoint, albeit defiantly. In fact, I was tempted to close my ears during intense scenes, and annoyed by the lack of a score during quiet scenes. Whatever the director's intent, it provided only an audial displeasure throughout the film.This film has no legitimate political message because it provides an inaccurate and extreme representation of the other, and neglects to actually address any issues. It is a propaganda film, because the director intends various symbols, styles, and scenes to draw sympathy for the Palestinian side, while displaying the Israeli side as cruel and inhuman without exception; the vibrant atmosphere of an action-packed Hollywood scene or of intense music is displayed in every act of violence by Palestinians against Israelis, such that the almost inevitably positive and thrilled feelings the music and cinematography elicit from the audience are directed to one side. There is no thought, reflection, or deepening of the understanding of the conflict by the audience; emotions are simply pulled to one side, and kept there, in a "good vs bad" cliché scenario. I believe this film lacked the depth, quality, and power of other Palestinian films, such as "Paradise Now" and "Wedding in the Galilee."

"Divine Intervention" is not a perfect film. Certain scenes go on too long. Some of the metaphors and symbolism are overdone and over-emphasized, and I'm still not sure how I feel about a crucial scene towards the end of the film, but overall when registering my vote for the film I, again, simply couldn't vote less than 10. It's hard to do so with such a unique film, and one which I feel is quite important and special, regardless of my own personal connection to the film and its subjects (like most of my father's family the filmmaker is a Palestinian Christian from Nazareth).The film's tone is one of detached, bitter irony. It's an absurdist look at the conflict, at life under Israeli occupation. A far cry from many Palestinian (or Israeli) films, especially the likes of "Paradise Now" (a great film in its own right), with their emphasis on examining the conflict itself, the solutions available and the morality of the actions taken by desperate people on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides, "Divine Intervention" is ultimately about minor miseries and absurdities, an uncanny portrayal of the mundane, monotonous nature of living in Palestine- you're always at a checkpoint, even if you're not actually at one.Checkpoints play a big part in the film. So do hands, eyes, footballs, balloons, post-it notes, Israeli authority figures, colorful language, and various other things. The opening half of the film is largely in a classic comedy tradition: sight gag after sight gag, with some uproariously (as far as I'm concerned) hilarious exchanges of dialogue, sadly some of this is lost in translation, but the film's humor is so overwhelmingly visual that this doesn't matter so much. The first time I saw the film some of the jokes didn't work for me and some did. Three viewings later it's easily one of the most satisfying comedies around.The film's latter half is more intent on surreal, symbolic imagery. Imagery which retains the bitter irony and absurdist tendencies of the first half, but will surely be harder to swallow for most, especially as some of it can easily be misunderstood and misinterpreted. The more ambitious set-pieces are also more visually problematic, with dated CGI mixing with Suleiman's wonderful portraits of Jerusalem. Most of the film's flaws are still in sequences I wouldn't dream of cutting out of the film. These scenes don't have the perfect timing and delivery of the comedy in the first half, which is much more subtle in its metaphorical and symbolic value than the latter half, but the film wouldn't work without them. It's a very odd film to say the least, and while I can complain about certain things I wouldn't have any suggestions on how to make them better. "Divine Intervention" remains one of very, very few films to really capture what it means to be Palestinian and to have a Palestinian mindset. More interestingly the film is almost entirely from the perspective of Christians (I don't believe hijab is seen at any point in the film), eliminating the ever-present Jews vs. Muslims debate and focusing on Palestinian identity and Palestinian life. As a document of Palestinian life, absurd yet believable and shockingly realistic, it is invaluable. Yet the film achieves more. It has depth. It works as a comedy first and foremost, but always has significance and importance, something more to say. The film is, ultimately, a collection of sketches, but they're brought together so well into a fairly cohesive whole that I can't understand the complaints about this aspect of the film. Some of the scenes are absolute classics, unforgettable even. The film has a wonderful visual sensibility, Suleiman's detachment extending beyond the writing and perspective to his camera which views these lives from a distance, static and observant, letting things play out against strikingly beautiful shots of Nazareth and Jerusalem. When Suleiman does go for motion it's for good reason. These shots tend to be ambitious and crucially important and are consistently well-realized by him and his crew. Something of a forgotten film, opening to mixed reviews and an extremely limited run in North America, "Divine Intervention" remains one of the most deserving Jury Prize winners at Cannes. It's not surprising that the Europeans were more receptive, it's just a shame that this movie is such a tough sell to fellow North Americans, even film buffs, mostly because it's so relatively unheard of. Too bad, it's really great.

Divine Intervention is a clever example of how human intelligence on behalf of a filmmaker is crucial for making a film which is enjoyable, successful,popular,crowd puller and of course followed by hard to please critics.Normally it is seen that very few film directors work hard on the overall development of their scripts.It is this issue which has been deftly handled by Elie Suleiman. He has given ample breathing space to all his characters regardless of their order of appearance. That is why there is no reference to neither major nor minor characters.There is no doubt that in terms of content,narrative style and visual presentation it is a different film. What makes it unique is that in some manner the director has resorted to cheap gimmicks.For example-when the film starts there is hardly any glimpse of Israel-Palestine conflict but as it progresses this conflict comes in the foreground.This is something which can be easily detected.The best thing that can be said about Divine Intervention is that it can be watched by all and sundry. This is not at all a mean achievement for a film from Palestine.

To begin with: this is a very good movie. This is at least how I felt while watching it. It will satisfy you in multiple ways because it works on multiple layer. The one the was most present to me is the critical abstraction from everyday life in an occupied region. In conceptual an visual dense shots it deals with interpersonal communication under constant pressure. Later on the view is opened to the political dimension of interchange between the two (or one and a half) states. At the same time you will get emotionally involved with several person and there very own way of individual reception of the situation that eventually will lead to resistance. Interwoven with this is a symbolic discourse sometimes philosophic sometimes mere ironic, forcing the audience to think, to make there mind up on what they are seeing. This all is refined with a dark, omnipresent but deeply human humour. For me it worked.9 out of 10 and a strong recommendation to see it for all those who love cinema that keeps one thinking.