Review of The Time That Remains (2009) by Mike M — 18 May 2010

Such deadpan follies (as in the work of Sweden's Roy Andersson) are an acquired taste, and the lack of context Suleiman provides may be an issue for those of us with little to no grounding in Middle Eastern history.

.. What keeps you watching is an innately human quality, one that demonstrates real warmth in its characterisation: [the director's father] Fu'ad has something of the Fantastic Mr. Fox about him, a sporty, crafty type (with fine hair) who's always one step ahead of the authorities.

It's one of those rare films that gets better as it goes along, in part because Suleiman has such a lovely, thoughtful way of describing time, of reconciling his past and present selves. At one point, Suleiman's camera watches (at a distance) the teenage Elia watching (from his own distance) the scuffles taking place between Israeli and pro-Palestinian forces on the streets below, perhaps showing signs of the detached observer he was to become; this teenage Elia delivers the Arab papers to the triumvirate forever sitting outside the local pub, and - in a later incarnation - we find Suleiman occupying one of these seats himself, watching the young men of the world striding by.

Those distributors need not have worried unduly: the moral of Suleiman's film, dedicated to the director's parents and with a cherishable cover of "Stayin' Alive" playing over the end credits, is that it happens to us all.