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			{{Short description\|2002 film by Elia Suleiman}}
	]
			{{Infobox film
	'''''Divine Intervention''''' (Arabic: ''yadun ilahi'' يد إلهي) is a ] ] by the ] ] director ], which may be described as a surreal ]. The film consists largely of a series of brief interconnected sketches, but for the most part records a day in the life of a Palestinian living in ], whose girlfriend lives several checkpoints away in the ] city of ].
			\| name = Divine Intervention
			\| image = Divine Intervention film.jpg
			\| director = ]
			\| writer = Elia Suleiman
			\| producer = ]<br>Elia Suleiman
			\| starring = Elia Suleiman<br>Manal Khader
			\| distributor = Avatar Films <small>(USA)</small>
			\| released = {{Film date\|2002\|05\|19}}
			\| runtime = 92 minutes
			\| country = ]<br>]<br>]<br>]
			\| language = Arabic<br>Hebrew<br>English
			\| budget =
			}}
			'''''Divine Intervention''''' ({{langx\|ar\|يد إلهية\|yad ʾilāhiyya\|divine hand}}) is a 2002 film by ] director ], which may be described as a surreal ]. The film consists largely of a series of brief interconnected sketches, but for the most part records a day in the life of a Palestinian living in ], whose girlfriend lives several checkpoints away in the ] city of ].

	One lyrical section ~~feature~~ a ~~beautiful~~ sunglasses-clad Palestinian woman (played by ]) whose passing by not only distracts all eyes, but whose gaze causes Israeli military checkpoint towers to crumble. The director features prominently as the film's silent, expressionless protagonist in an ~~iconic~~ ~~and powerfully moving performance~~ has been compared to the work of ], ] and ] .		One lyrical section features a sunglasses-clad Palestinian woman (played by Manal Khader) whose passing by not only distracts all eyes, but whose gaze causes Israeli military checkpoint towers to crumble. The director features prominently as the film's silent, expressionless protagonist in a performance that has been compared to the work of ], ] and ].<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=2295&CategoryId=24\|title=A Little Something Divine\|url-status=dead\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050226024700/http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=2295&CategoryId=24\|archive-date=2005-02-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.indiewire.com/people/people_030115elia.html \|title=A Breakdown of Communication: Elia Suleiman Talks About "Divine Intervention" \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051030011018/http://www.indiewire.com/people/people_030115elia.html \|archive-date=2005-10-30 }}</ref>

			The film is noted for its minimal use of dialogue, its slow pace and repetition in behavior by its characters.

			==Cast==
			* ] as E.S.
			* Manal Khader as The Woman
			* Nayef Fahoum Daher as E.S.'s Father
			* Denis Sandler Sapoznikov as Israeli soldier on Palestinian-Israeli border
			* ] as Soldier at Checkpoint.

			==Plot==
			{{confusing section\|date=November 2019}}
			'''''Divine Intervention''''' while being a series of interconnected sketches, is a glimpse at life of Palestinians living under military occupation going in between the cities of Nazareth and Ramallah. E.S. lives in Nazareth while his father lives in Ramallah. We begin the film focusing on life in Ramallah with the Father for the first part of the film, bouncing between different stories of the neighbors within this area and the conflicts they undergo. Disputes between neighbors, Israeli police coming and going, the seizing of Palestinian owned things and places by the Israeli settlers, Palestinians interacting with/watching one another, etc.

			In the second part of the film, E.S.'s Father has fallen ill and is in the hospital, he must now enter Ramallah and visit his father. While going in between Nazareth and Ramallah, E.S. begins meeting with The Woman in their cars at the border checkpoint between the two cities. The couple's clandestine meetings continue to take place throughout the rest of the film. In them we also observe the Israeli military guards at the checkpoint as they interact with the Palestinians who are crossing into Nazareth.

			The film is characterized by a lack of dialogue. The characters of the film are only able to observe the happenings of their everyday life without being able to interfere much as they are under military occupation and must adhere to it.


			'''Sketches:'''

			In Nazareth, ] runs away from children as gifts fall from his basket. He's been stabbed and leans against the ruin of a Franciscan chapel atop Mount Fear.

			E.S.'s Father curses familiar faces as he drives through the streets.

			Neighbors bicker over small stuff.

			A Palestinian couple meets in a car at the border checkpoint between Ramallah and Nazareth.

			More bickering neighbors.

			A tourist asks an Israeli policeman for directions. Unable to help her himself, the policeman brings out a blindfolded Palestinian prisoner from the back of his van. The Palestinian tells her three different possible routes.

			The couple is in the car again. The man (E.S.) blows up a red balloon with the face of ] drawn on it. He releases it near an Israeli checkpoint. An Israeli soldier is about to shoot it down but his comrade stops him. In the confusion, the couple are able to drive through the checkpoint together. The balloon floats across Jerusalem, eventually settling against the ].

			At night, the couple again in a car.

			The next morning, five Israeli men practice an elaborate sequence of dance-like moves. Armed with guns, they repeatedly fire at targets painted like a Palestinian woman under the direction of a choreographer-officer. When one of the targets fails to fall to the ground, a real Palestinian woman (dressed like the targets) appears. The officer instructs his men to fire at her. In a supernatural feat, she gathers their bullets in the air around her and rises from the ground. The bullets form a crown of thorns around her head until she lets them fall to the ground. She then uses crescent-adorned stars and rocks to kill all but the officer. A helicopter appears to reinforce the Israelis, which the woman also easily destroys throwing a sheld with the form of Palestine. The dance choreographer watches helplessly and the woman disappears.

			The film ends with E.S. and his mother watching their dinner cook in a pressure cooker.

			==Oscar controversy==
			Despite being nominated for the "]" award at the ], the film's consideration as candidate for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards was an occasion for considerable controversy. In late 2002, producer ] authorized the US distributor of the film to release a statement which stated that Balsan had asked the ] if the film could run for best foreign language picture. According to Balsan, the answer was no, because "Palestine is not a state we recognize in our rules." However, spokesperson John Pavlik states that the Academy had never made a decision on that issue because Suleiman had never submitted his film. Critics like ''The Electronic Intifada'' and others, claim that the Academy did make a decision, and that it was based on political considerations.<ref>Doherty, Benjamin J. Abunimah, Ali. (2002). "". ''The Electronic Intifada''. December 10. Last accessed: December 19, 2005.</ref>

			The film was considered for an Oscar the following year; Pavlik told '']'' "The committee decided to treat Palestine as an exception in the same way we treat Hong Kong as an exception. It's always the goal of the foreign-language film award executive committee to be as inclusive as possible."<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3209974.stm\|title=Palestinian film joins Oscar race \| work=BBC News \| date=October 21, 2003 \| access-date=January 2, 2010}}</ref>

			==Music==
			{{Infobox album
			\| name = Divine intervention
			\| type = soundtrack
			\| artist = Various Artists
			\| cover =
			\| released = September 30, 2002
			\| recorded =
			\| venue =
			\| studio =
			\| genre = ]
			\| length = 52:27
			\| label = ]
			\| producer =
			\| prev_title =
			\| next_title =
			}}

			Elia Suleiman has used entirely non-original music of various genres and artists in the film. These include artists such as the Belgian singer ], Indian composer ], Lebanese electro-pop band ] and Paris-based record producer ].

			'''Track listing''':
			#"]" by ] — 3:44
			#"Ana Oual Azab" by ] — 9:01
			#"Fingers" by ] — 6:34
			#"Easy Muffin" by ] — 5:03
			#"Wala Ala Baloh" by ] — 5:08
			#"Les Kid Nappeurs Main Theme" by ] — 4:13
			#"Tango El Amal" by ] — 3:10
			#"]" by ] — 5:14
			#"Definitive beat" by Mirwais — 3:58
			#"Tango" by ] — 3:19
			#"Dub4me" by ] — 3:03

			==Awards==
			The film screened at the ] on May 12,<ref>{{cite web \| title= Release dates for Yadon ilaheyya \| url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274428/releaseinfo \| access-date=2009-08-10 \| publisher=IMDb.com }}</ref> was awarded the ]<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web\|url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/3107802/year/2002.html \|title=Festival de Cannes: Divine Intervention \|access-date=2009-10-25 \|work=festival-cannes.com \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822140128/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/3107802/year/2002.html \|archive-date=2011-08-22 }}</ref> and the ] for "its sensitive, amusing and innovative vision of a complex and topical situation and the tragic consequences that result from it".<ref>{{cite web\|title=Cannes Film Festival 2002 \|url=https://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Cannes_Film_Festival/2002#FIPRESCI_Prize \|access-date=2009-08-10 \|publisher=IMDb.com \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209093140/http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Cannes_Film_Festival/2002 \|archive-date=2009-02-09 }}</ref>

			;Won
			* Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival<ref name="festival-cannes.com" />
			* FIPRESCI Prize (competition) at the Cannes Film Festival<ref name="festival-cannes.com" />
			* Special Jury Prize at the ]
			* Screen International Award at the ]

			;Nominated
			* Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival<ref name="festival-cannes.com" />
			* Best Non-American Film at the ]

			==See also==
			*]
			*]

			==References==
			{{reflist}}

	Despite being nominated for the "]" award at the ] ], the film's consideration as candidate for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards was an occasion for considerable controversy. After a vigorous campaign by Zionist activists to bar the movie, the film was denied consideration by the California-based ], based on a spontaneously declared informal policy that "The academy does not accept films from countries that are not recognized by the United Nations," and "Palestine does not have membership in the United Nations." Some have claimed that the Academy's decision was based on political considerations . The film was however considered for an Oscar the following year.

	==External links==		==External links==
	*{{~~imdb~~ title\|id=0274428\|title=Divine Intervention}}		*{{IMDb title\|id=0274428\|title=Divine Intervention}}
			*{{Rotten Tomatoes\|divine_intervention_2003\|title=Divine Intervention}}
	*
			*
			* {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040417170411/http://www.offoffoff.com/film/2003/divineintervention.php \|date=2004-04-17 }}
			*

			{{Elia Suleiman}}
			{{Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize}}
			{{Palestinian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film}}

	{{film-stub}}
	]		]
	]		]
			]
			]
			]
			]
			]
			]

Latest revision as of 20:13, 17 December 2024

2002 film by Elia Suleiman

Divine Intervention

Directed by	Elia Suleiman
Written by	Elia Suleiman
Produced by	Humbert Balsan Elia Suleiman
Starring	Elia Suleiman Manal Khader
Distributed by	Avatar Films (USA)
Release date	May 19, 2002 (2002-05-19)
Running time	92 minutes
Countries	France Morocco Germany Palestinian territories
Languages	Arabic Hebrew English

Divine Intervention (Arabic: يد إلهية, romanized: yad ʾilāhiyya, lit. 'divine hand') is a 2002 film by Palestinian director Elia Suleiman, which may be described as a surreal black comedy. The film consists largely of a series of brief interconnected sketches, but for the most part records a day in the life of a Palestinian living in Nazareth, whose girlfriend lives several checkpoints away in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

One lyrical section features a sunglasses-clad Palestinian woman (played by Manal Khader) whose passing by not only distracts all eyes, but whose gaze causes Israeli military checkpoint towers to crumble. The director features prominently as the film's silent, expressionless protagonist in a performance that has been compared to the work of Buster Keaton, Jim Jarmusch and Jacques Tati.

The film is noted for its minimal use of dialogue, its slow pace and repetition in behavior by its characters.

Cast

Elia Suleiman as E.S.
Manal Khader as The Woman
Nayef Fahoum Daher as E.S.'s Father
Denis Sandler Sapoznikov as Israeli soldier on Palestinian-Israeli border
Menashe Noy as Soldier at Checkpoint.

Plot

This section may be confusing or unclear to readers. Please help clarify the section. There might be a discussion about this on the talk page. (November 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Divine Intervention while being a series of interconnected sketches, is a glimpse at life of Palestinians living under military occupation going in between the cities of Nazareth and Ramallah. E.S. lives in Nazareth while his father lives in Ramallah. We begin the film focusing on life in Ramallah with the Father for the first part of the film, bouncing between different stories of the neighbors within this area and the conflicts they undergo. Disputes between neighbors, Israeli police coming and going, the seizing of Palestinian owned things and places by the Israeli settlers, Palestinians interacting with/watching one another, etc.

In the second part of the film, E.S.'s Father has fallen ill and is in the hospital, he must now enter Ramallah and visit his father. While going in between Nazareth and Ramallah, E.S. begins meeting with The Woman in their cars at the border checkpoint between the two cities. The couple's clandestine meetings continue to take place throughout the rest of the film. In them we also observe the Israeli military guards at the checkpoint as they interact with the Palestinians who are crossing into Nazareth.

The film is characterized by a lack of dialogue. The characters of the film are only able to observe the happenings of their everyday life without being able to interfere much as they are under military occupation and must adhere to it.

Sketches:

In Nazareth, Santa Claus runs away from children as gifts fall from his basket. He's been stabbed and leans against the ruin of a Franciscan chapel atop Mount Fear.

E.S.'s Father curses familiar faces as he drives through the streets.

Neighbors bicker over small stuff.

A Palestinian couple meets in a car at the border checkpoint between Ramallah and Nazareth.

More bickering neighbors.

A tourist asks an Israeli policeman for directions. Unable to help her himself, the policeman brings out a blindfolded Palestinian prisoner from the back of his van. The Palestinian tells her three different possible routes.

The couple is in the car again. The man (E.S.) blows up a red balloon with the face of Yasser Arafat drawn on it. He releases it near an Israeli checkpoint. An Israeli soldier is about to shoot it down but his comrade stops him. In the confusion, the couple are able to drive through the checkpoint together. The balloon floats across Jerusalem, eventually settling against the Dome of the Rock.

At night, the couple again in a car.

The next morning, five Israeli men practice an elaborate sequence of dance-like moves. Armed with guns, they repeatedly fire at targets painted like a Palestinian woman under the direction of a choreographer-officer. When one of the targets fails to fall to the ground, a real Palestinian woman (dressed like the targets) appears. The officer instructs his men to fire at her. In a supernatural feat, she gathers their bullets in the air around her and rises from the ground. The bullets form a crown of thorns around her head until she lets them fall to the ground. She then uses crescent-adorned stars and rocks to kill all but the officer. A helicopter appears to reinforce the Israelis, which the woman also easily destroys throwing a sheld with the form of Palestine. The dance choreographer watches helplessly and the woman disappears.

The film ends with E.S. and his mother watching their dinner cook in a pressure cooker.

Oscar controversy

Despite being nominated for the "Palme d'Or" award at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, the film's consideration as candidate for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards was an occasion for considerable controversy. In late 2002, producer Humbert Balsan authorized the US distributor of the film to release a statement which stated that Balsan had asked the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences if the film could run for best foreign language picture. According to Balsan, the answer was no, because "Palestine is not a state we recognize in our rules." However, spokesperson John Pavlik states that the Academy had never made a decision on that issue because Suleiman had never submitted his film. Critics like The Electronic Intifada and others, claim that the Academy did make a decision, and that it was based on political considerations.

The film was considered for an Oscar the following year; Pavlik told Variety "The committee decided to treat Palestine as an exception in the same way we treat Hong Kong as an exception. It's always the goal of the foreign-language film award executive committee to be as inclusive as possible."

Music

Divine intervention
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Released	September 30, 2002
Genre	Soundtrack
Length	52:27
Label	Milan Music

Elia Suleiman has used entirely non-original music of various genres and artists in the film. These include artists such as the Belgian singer Natacha Atlas, Indian composer A.R. Rahman, Lebanese electro-pop band Soapkills and Paris-based record producer Mirwais Ahmadzaï.

Track listing:

"I Put a Spell on You" by Natacha Atlas — 3:44
"Ana Oual Azab" by Mohammed Abdel Wahab — 9:01
"Fingers" by Joi — 6:34
"Easy Muffin" by Amon Tobin — 5:03
"Wala Ala Baloh" by Amr Diab — 5:08
"Les Kid Nappeurs Main Theme" by Marc Collin — 4:13
"Tango El Amal" by Nour el Houda — 3:10
"Mumbai Theme Tune" by A.R. Rahman — 5:14
"Definitive beat" by Mirwais — 3:58
"Tango" by Soapkills — 3:19
"Dub4me" by Soapkills — 3:03

Awards

The film screened at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival on May 12, was awarded the Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize for "its sensitive, amusing and innovative vision of a complex and topical situation and the tragic consequences that result from it".

Won

Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival
FIPRESCI Prize (competition) at the Cannes Film Festival
Special Jury Prize at the Chicago International Film Festival
Screen International Award at the European Film Awards

Nominated

Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival
Best Non-American Film at the Bodil Awards

References

"A Little Something Divine". Archived from the original on 2005-02-26.
"A Breakdown of Communication: Elia Suleiman Talks About "Divine Intervention"". Archived from the original on 2005-10-30.
Doherty, Benjamin J. Abunimah, Ali. (2002). "Oscars' double standard turns Palestinian film into refugee". The Electronic Intifada. December 10. Last accessed: December 19, 2005.
"Palestinian film joins Oscar race". BBC News. October 21, 2003. Retrieved January 2, 2010.
"Release dates for Yadon ilaheyya". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
^ "Festival de Cannes: Divine Intervention". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-22. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
"Cannes Film Festival 2002". IMDb.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-09. Retrieved 2009-08-10.

External links

Divine Intervention at IMDb
Divine Intervention at Rotten Tomatoes
Village Voice
Offoffoff Archived 2004-04-17 at the Wayback Machine
Philadelphia City Paper

v t e Films directed by Elia Suleiman
Chronicle of a Disappearance (1996) Divine Intervention (2002) To Each His Own Cinema (2007) The Time That Remains (2009) 7 Days in Havana (2012) It Must Be Heaven (2019)

v t e Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize
1946–1973	The Battle of the Rails (1946) All About Eve (1951) We Are All Murderers (1952) Knave of Hearts (1954) Lost Continent (1955) The Mystery of Picasso (1956) Kanał / The Seventh Seal (1957) Mon Oncle (1958) Stars (1959) L'Avventura / Odd Obsession (1960) Mother Joan of the Angels (1961) The Trial of Joan of Arc / L'Eclisse (1962) Harakiri / The Cassandra Cat (1963) Woman in the Dunes (1964) Kwaidan (1965) Alfie (1966) Z (1969) The Falcons / The Strawberry Statement (1970) Love / Joe Hill (1971) Slaughterhouse-Five (1972) The Hourglass Sanatorium / The Invitation (1973)
1980–2000	The Constant Factor (1980) Kharij (1983) Colonel Redl (1985) Thérèse (1986) Yeelen / Shinran: Path to Purity (1987) A Short Film About Killing (1988) Jesus of Montreal (1989) Hidden Agenda (1990) Europa / Out of Life (1991) Dream of Light / An Independent Life (1992) The Puppetmaster / Raining Stones (1993) La Reine Margot (1994) Don't Forget You're Going to Die / Carrington (1995) Crash (1996) Western (1997) Class Trip / Festen (1998) The Letter (1999) Blackboards / Songs from the Second Floor (2000)
2002–present	Divine Intervention (2002) At Five in the Afternoon (2003) Tropical Malady (2004) Shanghai Dreams (2005) Red Road (2006) Persepolis / Silent Light (2007) Il Divo (2008) Thirst / Fish Tank (2009) A Screaming Man (2010) Polisse (2011) The Angels' Share (2012) Like Father, Like Son (2013) Mommy / Goodbye to Language (2014) The Lobster (2015) American Honey (2016) Loveless (2017) Capernaum (2018) Bacurau / Les Misérables (2019) Ahed's Knee / Memoria (2021) EO / The Eight Mountains (2022) Fallen Leaves (2023) Emilia Pérez (2024)

v t e Palestinian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
Divine Intervention (2003) The Olive Harvest (2004) Paradise Now (2005) Salt of this Sea (2008) When I Saw You (2012) Omar (2013) Eyes of a Thief (2014) The Wanted 18 (2015) The Idol (2016) Wajib (2017) Ghost Hunting (2018) It Must Be Heaven (2019) Gaza mon amour (2020) The Stranger (2021) Mediterranean Fever (2022) Bye Bye Tiberias (2023) From Ground Zero (2024)

Palestinian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

Divine Intervention (2003)
The Olive Harvest (2004)
Paradise Now (2005)
Salt of this Sea (2008)
When I Saw You (2012)
Omar (2013)
Eyes of a Thief (2014)
The Wanted 18 (2015)
The Idol (2016)
Wajib (2017)
Ghost Hunting (2018)
It Must Be Heaven (2019)
Gaza mon amour (2020)
The Stranger (2021)
Mediterranean Fever (2022)
Bye Bye Tiberias (2023)
From Ground Zero (2024)

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