For a “New Palestine Cinema” – part 4

Chronicle of Disappearance

Elijah Suleiman. Palestine, Israel, USA, Germany, France, 1996. 88′

A personal and fundamental meditation: what effect does political instability have on the Palestinian people’s soul, psyche and its identity?

What does it mean to be Palestinian in contemporary times? After twelve years of exile in New York, Elia Suleiman returns to his homeland in search of his roots. The elders tell stories and jokes; russian emigrates talk about the devastation of the country by tourism; turists pontificate about Israeli politics; a young Palestinian actress struggles to find an apartment, while Suleiman, himself a character, tries to figure out what kind of film he should make.

Elia Suleiman is a Palestinian actor and director born in 1960 in Nazareth. In his films he often depicts the Israeli occupation with a tone between surreal comedy and modern tragedy, with a look at everyday life. Often compared to directors Jacques Tati and Buster Keaton, Suleiman treats both the burlesque and the serious, with a similar poetic sense.