Elia Suleiman-Yadon ilaheyya ('Divine Intervention') (2002)

At the center of the Middle East conflict, hearts beat in tragic comedy and deadpan irony: a sexy young Palestinian woman defies Israeli soldiers and struts through a check-point as if it were the catwalk of a fashion show, Santa Claus is chased up the sun-drenched hills of Nazareth by a gang of knife-wielding school kids, Israeli police use a blindfolded prisoner to provide directions to tourists in Jerusalem and a female ninja descends from the sky, holding the map of ‘Palestine’ as her battle shield. These are but a few of the provocative images put forth in this critically-acclaimed satire chronicling the absurdities of life and love on both sides of the Palestinian-Israeli border. Koch Lorber




Santa Claus tries to outrun a gang of knife-wielding youth. It's one of several vignettes of Palestinian life in Israel - in a neighborhood in Nazareth and at Al-Ram checkpoint in East Jerusalem. Most of the stories are droll, some absurd, one is mythic and fanciful; few words are spoken. A man who goes through his mail methodically each morning has a heart attack. His son visits him in hospital. The son regularly meets a woman at Al-Ram; they sit in a car, hands caressing. Once, she defies Israeli guards at the checkpoint; later, Ninja-like, she takes on soldiers at a target range. A red balloon floats free overhead. Neighbors toss garbage over walls. Life goes on until it doesn't. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0274428/plotsummary)




A story that takes place in Nazareth, and at a checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah, as well as a few scenes in Jerusalem. The film starts out showing the daily lives of Arab Israelis in Nazareth, and the almost depressing routine that revolves around unemployment and high taxes (the green envelopes are government mail, whatever you get from different ministries and departments, and the big blue envelope was income tax). It shows Palestinian suffering at Israeli checkpoints and road blocks. The whole story revolves around this one checkpoint where a man from Nazareth meets this lady from Ramallah and observe. At one point in the movie it shows the tension between the Arab and the Jew, and the courage and defiance that come with it. And finally there's a Ninja scene where the girl fights these Israeli soldiers that are shooting at pictures of her (in Matrix-like action). I would recommend this film to someone who doesn't know much about Israel/Palestine and what's going on over there. I would also recommend it to those who do know what's going on and would like to see a different twist to it. Extremely informative… (http://imdb.com/title/tt0274428/usercomments)




In Nazareth, under a guise of banal normality, the town embraces folly. Under pressure from his failing business, a man takes matters into his own hands and tries to break a chain reaction of petty feuds. He breaks down himself. The man is E.S.' father. A love story takes place between a Palestinian man living in Jerusalem and a Palestinian woman from Ramallah. The man - E.S. -shifts between his ailing father and his love life, trying to keep both alive. Because of the political situation, the woman's freedom of movement ends at the Israeli army checkpoint between the two cities. Barred from crossing, the lovers' intimate encounters take place on a deserted lot right beside the checkpoint. The lovers are unable to escape from the reality of occupation. They are unable to preserve their intimacy in the face of a siege. A complicity of solemn desire begins to generate violent repercussions. Against the odds, their angry hearts counter-attack with spasms of spectacular fantasy. Artificial Eye