‘It Must Be Heaven’ by Palestinian director Elia Suleiman takes Cannes FIPRESCI critics’ prize
Cannes (QNN)- Palestinian director and screenwriter Elia Suleiman’s latest film “It Must Be Heaven” ascended to the top of the international film critics list, winning the FIPRESCI prize at the Cannes Film Festival Saturday.
Suleiman also plays the lead role in the movie, which tells the story of a Palestinian seeking an alternative homeland, only to find that however far he travels, from Paris to New York, something always reminds him of home.
Elia Suleiman is in every scene of “It Must Be Heaven,” but he only speaks four words. The writer-director-star finds himself in a New York taxi cab in the midst of a globe-trotting journey after fleeing his drab routine back home. Asked where he comes from, he replies, “Nazareth,” then clarifies: “I am Palestinian.” And that’s pretty much all you need to know. For the rest of the movie, Suleiman’s deadpan stare says it all, as the slapstick auteur’s latest installment in his ongoing chronicle of Palestinian identity settles into his usual playful routine. Once again, the Chaplinesque Suleiman drifts through an ambivalent world, and his solemn expression does the bulk of the talking.
“In a subtle, stylistically strong and humorous way, this film tells a story that goes beyond politics, religions, authorities and cultural differences. Even though those differences are observed with a sharp eye for the absurd that slides through hypocrisy and are delivered with great cinematic and often surprising choreographies,” said the group.
