EXCLUSIVE
Well now Suleiman’s back with
It Must Be Heaven, playing himself as
he travels across continents from
Nazareth, fixing all that he sees with
a look of wide-eyed bemusement, and
occasionally stopping in on producers
to try to raise funding for his next
film. They pass because it’s “not enough
about Palestine”, meaning it’s not as
overtly political or angry or preachy as
western audiences might expect.
“For my first feature film [Chronicle
Of A Disappearance], this is what
was happening – it was difficult to
finance,” says Suleiman with a wry
smile. “Hopefully it will not be 10
years until my next film. I will try my
best, but things with me happen the
way they do.”
Suleiman, when interviewed, is
a man of few words, which perhaps
shouldn’t come as a surprise givenY
ou’ve perhaps not heard of Palestinian director Elia Suleiman –
his films, though firm favourites with the festival crowd, hardly
pack out UK multiplexes, and he’s not made a movie for 11 years.
That 2009 title was The Time That Remains, and before that it was a
seven year break after 2002’s Divine Intervention.his exaggerated alter ego in It Must Be
Heaven barely offers a peep. Instead he
speaks volumes with those saucered
eyes peering out from under the
brim of his panama hat at scenes of
choreographed absurdism. Americans
buy automatic weapons like groceries.
A trio of Parisian cops glide on Segways
like Olympic ice skaters, tracingintricate patterns. And, back home, a
neighbour steals lemons from the tree
in his garden. Fans of Roy Andersson’s
surreal comedies will find much to
enjoy here, though Suleiman’s brand of
humour is most often compared to US
silent icon Buster Keaton and French
master Jacques Tati.
“If it’s a comparison, it’s a very
flattering comparison. If it’s imposing,
like ‘inspired by...’, it’s false,” says
Suleiman. “I see it, as an observer, but
there are a lot of things that inspire you
when you start to watch films, and you
have your own language.” So is this the
way Suleiman himself sees the world?
“Yes, this person is very much the way
I live my life. It’s not always fun, either,
because some of the stuff I observe can
be a little bit pessimistic.”
There is certainly pessimism in It
Must Be Heaven, which seems to be
saying that we all now live in a kind
of global Palestine, hemmed in by
oppression and pompous officialdom
and threats of violence. But any
theories and themes are buried deep
beneath the layered laughs.
“I don’t want the spectator to feel
they’re going to learn,” says Suleiman
with a twinkle in his eyes. “I want
them to enjoy.” JGETA | 3 APRIL / IT MUST BE HEAVEN WAS
SCHEDULED FOR RELEASE AT TIME OF PRESS.Divine comedy
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