SFFS Screen: The Time That Remains February 4, 2011

Imagine a film chronicling the lives and hardships of Palestinians who were branded Israeli Arabs, living as a minority in their own homeland. Now imagine it as a comedy. This contradiction, starring, written and directed by Elia Suleiman, is a wonderful fusion of the political and personal, the historical and the hysterical. Spanning from 1948 until recent times, The Time That Remains recreates the lives of Suleiman's family and community with precise deadpan wit. Inspired by his father's diaries and his mother's letters to family who were forced to leave the country, Suleiman combines sometimes absurd vignettes and brightly colored mise en scène with the framing of a Jacques Tati film, interspersing touching moments of familial intimacy with tense scenes of abuse at the hands of Israelis. Under the masterful direction of an exceptionally thoughtful filmmaker, The Time That Remains deals with political history without ever becoming mired in politics. Rather, we are presented with a beautifully conceived series of wry sketches that follow one ordinary family in extraordinary times. —Cameron Bailey, Toronto International Film Festival

Official Website: http://www.sffs.org/content.aspx?catid=8,59&pageid=2056