A new Palestinian feature film.
This film has intrigued me so much from its trailer that I was keen on seeing it in cinemas as soon as possible. It premiered in Cannes in 2019 and is shown in cinemas this year. Palestinian films are rare in general, and therefore all the more intriguing. It Must Be Heaven is a masterpiece, which is visually stunning, thematically current and overall at the same time entertaining and thoughtful.
The basis is rather simple and quite autobiographical: Elia Suleiman, who is the director, screenwriter and protagonist of his film, travels the world to find financial support for his film, a comedy set in Palestine. In three chapters, set in Palestine, Paris and New York, some everyday occurrences are shown, that illustrate typical incidents of the country with plenty of humour and some criticism. The similarities and contrasts of the countries and cultures are at the center of the film, shown without open judgement but rather through the wondering and often bemused eyes of the protagonist.
This film will make you smile and chuckle, but also think. One of the most interesting and creative films I've watched in recent years, which I can highly recommend to all film lovers.
(Note: I have found myself reminded of the film The Square (see post on funny films), which has a similar humour in some ways. While The Square rather deals with the art world and modern society in general, It Must Be Heaven has a bit more of a focus on authority, military and police forces, as well as women's rights. But both show some unexpected humour while also using absurd moments to draw attention to grievances in society.)
As is visible in these few pictures which have so far been released, the cinematography is stunning. Some interesting symbols used throughout the film are birds, in the shape of the sparrow visible in one of the images, but also including many pigeons and other birds. The symmetries are often beautiful but also funny, as the picture with the four police officers shows. More symmetries and some humorous moments can be seen in the trailer below:
(In Swiss cinemas now, in Zurich in Arena and RiffRaff.)
(Images: IMDB)