I love films which are able to make me fall in love with characters who spend majority of their film not speaking.
I think it’s very important that Letterboxd opened their Video Store with highlighting a Palestinian filmmaker. A film which is dedicated in itself ‘to Palestine’ is a brilliant story about looking at both Palestine itself but also the western world from the eyes of an outsider.
We see Suleiman travel from Palestine to Paris and New York in which we see them in a very hyperbolic, dystopian perspective, which really brings to light the reality embedded within this political comedy. Palestine, which to western society is only ever depicted in one particular way is shown to us how it can also look when not viewed through a social media news blast. However Paris and New York, two of the most famous cities in the world, are shown to be infested with police and military.
One of the most stand out moments to me is the FEMEN protester we see in Central Park who is hunted down by police officers who are attempting to silence and cover her, which very much speaks volumes to how our societies are so invested in stopping free speech and protests and keeping things writhing a certain narrative.
Along with that, the scenes both in the taxi and the panel, people from Palestine are treated like royalty or exhibits because they simply are Palestinian, and they’re cheered and applauded simply for that and not for actually who they are or what they’ve achieved.
All in all I think this is a really interesting film with lots of moments to dissect and it’s certainly made me want to engage with more films and art from this part of the world. So thank you Letterboxd for introducing me to this wonderful film.
I love films which are able to make me fall in love with characters who spend majority of their film not speaking.
I think it’s very important that Letterboxd opened their Video Store with highlighting a Palestinian filmmaker. A film which is dedicated in itself ‘to Palestine’ is a brilliant story about looking at both Palestine itself but also the western world from the eyes of an outsider.
We see Suleiman travel from Palestine to Paris and New York in which we see them in a very hyperbolic, dystopian perspective, which really brings to light the reality embedded within this political comedy. Palestine, which to western society is only ever depicted in one particular way is shown to us how it can also look when not viewed through a social media news blast. However Paris and New York, two of the most famous cities in the world, are shown to be infested with police and military.
One of the most stand out moments to me is the FEMEN protester we see in Central Park who is hunted down by police officers who are attempting to silence and cover her, which very much speaks volumes to how our societies are so invested in stopping free speech and protests and keeping things writhing a certain narrative.
Along with that, the scenes both in the taxi and the panel, people from Palestine are treated like royalty or exhibits because they simply are Palestinian, and they’re cheered and applauded simply for that and not for actually who they are or what they’ve achieved.
All in all I think this is a really interesting film with lots of moments to dissect and it’s certainly made me want to engage with more films and art from this part of the world. So thank you Letterboxd for introducing me to this wonderful film.
