Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleyman uses a quote from Hugo of St Victor as the maxim for his first feature: 'The tender man who finds his homeland sweet, is still a tender beginner; he to whom every soil is as his native one, is already strong; but he is perfect, to whom the entire world is as a foreign land.' Suleyman constructs Chronicle of A Disappearance as a journey in search of identity and self-discovery.
The narrative revolves around ES, Suleyman playing himself, and follows his quest to find out what it means to be a Palestinian. He travels through different territories, searching out intimacy. It is through his wanderings that we are introduced to his extended network of family and friends. These are characters caught in a postmodernist existence. They don't seem to be going anywhere yet their days are spent day-dreaming. They speak continuously, yet say very little.
ES returns to his birth place, Nazareth. It is here that he experiences the rift between his native place and himself. In order to understand this rift, he begins an enquiry into his own sense of belonging and his dual role as both insider and outsider. He explores these roles more fully by shifting from character to observer and from mediator to storyteller. Not only does Suleyman play himself but most of the characters are ordinary people acting their own story.
Chronicle of a Disappearance, according to the director, depicts 'a situation of stasis, characterised by deprivation, disillusionment, and lack of action'. The characters in the film wander through a social and political labyrinth in an attempt to break free from their ghettoised existence.
The film does not provide distinct answers to questions of Palestinian identity. Rather it offers an assortment of possible truths as it explores, through Suleyman's own eyes, the effects of ghettoisation and marginalisation on the Palestinian psyche.
Donna Wasserstein
Prod co: Dhat productions
Prod/ dir/scr: Elia Suleyman
Ph: Marc André Batingé
Art dir: Samir Srouji, Hans Ter
Elst Sound: Jean-Paul Mugel
Ed: Anna Ruiz
Cast: Elia Suleyman, Fuad Suleyman, Nazira Suleyman, Ula Tabari
Running time: 87 mins
[Home ] [Content ] [The Sponsors ] [The Team ] [Comments ] [Help ]
