Come to the film screening “The Time that Remains”. During the screening, we will be honored to welcome Mr. Saadi Salama, Palestinian Ambassador to Vietnam. Saadi is a professor who had undertaken various diplomatic positions in other countries since the 1980s until he embarked on his ambassadorship in Vietnam in late 2009.
“No more Nation, I only have the Arabs” says the newspaper seller when Elia and his two friends call out to him. That apparently harmless answer has a prophetic tone and can very well summarize the context in which our movie is set.
As he’s on his way home from exile to take care of his aging mother, Elia finds himself stuck in a taxi under a strange and surreal storm. Waiting for the water to stop pouring down, Elia explores through flashbacks the links that bound his family story with his nation (and city) history.
Nazareth, 1948, 1970, 1980: from his father’s resistance to the surrender to the Israelis to his own exploits, we mingle with the Palestinians who stayed in their beloved city: what is life under occupation, how to retain one’s identity – or simply live a normal life?
This could be a heart-breaking story if Elia Suleiman didn’t use his humour to assemble the scenes, and his taste for slowness to defuse the drama bomb. What results is a brilliantly shot – with several remarkable views of Nazareth – comic and touching story of Suleiman’s family and the Palestinians.
Director: Elia Suleiman
Released: 2009
Language: with English and Vietnamese subtitles
“The Time that Remains” will be screened on Sat 13 May 2017, 7.30 pm at Six Space, 6th floor, 94B Tran Hung Dao, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi.
