The Time That Remains

Radio Times“Elia Suleiman's marvellous and insightful film...” Suleiman plays a deadpan, silent-movie style version of himself, but there's genuine pathos in the sequences between him and his widowed mother (Shafika Bajjali) after he returns from exile in the present day...

The Independent“a deadly serious subject...” Elia Suleiman's memoir of his family under Israeli occupation continues the mood of his earlier Divine Intervention (2002)... Framed and composed in a deadpan style, with comic tableaux, recurring jokes and chasmic leaps in time...

The Times“A film of two halves...” The scenes set further in the past are essentially naturalistic, whether mordantly comical or utterly sober. When Suleiman appears, however, he does so in his usual screen persona: a deadpan, largely silent figure modelled on Buster Keaton....

Guardian“There is charm and wit in abundance here...” There is much to enjoy in The Time That Remains: not merely its breathtaking technique, but the touching moments of gentleness and compassion...

The Telegraph“Any new film by Elia Suleiman gives cause for rejoicing...” The absurdity of recent Middle Eastern history - the bewildering extent to which social justice is denied to so many Palestinians - is evoked with a perfect synthesis of melancholy, rage and black wit...

Little White Lies“Admirably eccentric...” While there’s no denying that this is a passionate and intelligent piece of filmmaking, one wonders how many more times this idiosyncratic template can serve Suleiman’s cinematic needs...

Total Film “Suleiman relies on a wry, deadpan gaze...” A series of detached, tragicomic vignettes illustrating the absurdities, frustrations, minor triumphs and downright idiocies of life in Israel’s beleaguered Palestinian enclaves...

Empire“Brilliantly absurdist yet deeply moving...” This episodic memoir is packed with impeccably composed tableaux, running gags, sly and witty historical insights and moments of genuine poignancy...

Time Out film“The humour and the political commentary are variable...” It takes a while to get used to Suleiman’s approach of covering such a wide and eventful period of Palestinian history through such personal, comic sketches, but some of the later, more emotional scenes are particularly affecting...

Channel4 Film“Not yet reviewed”