The film is less a story and more just a series of observant and funny vignettes strung together. Many of the scenes deal with various characters lack of respect for one another. But also the scenes are meant to show the absurdity and anger of the entire situation. In many cases the characters do really dumb or nasty things to one another; and you realize the director / writer and star Elia Suleiman is making a statement about the petty feuds of many people in the region.

Many of the scenes also have a surreal edge or a symbolic or metaphorical meaning. The film opens with a man in a Santa Clause suit being chased by a bunch of Palestinian kids through the hills of Nazareth. I take this to be an ironic statement about Christmas and the home of Christ – which supposedly means something different to Jews, Arab Muslims and Christians and yet has become little more than a capitalistic holiday. Yet other scenes are very political; one scene has a super terrorist (ninja?) woman whipping a bunch of Israeli policeman with her anti-gravity skills.

The film's primary story is about the complicated relationship between a Palestinian man and woman. The man (played by Elia Suleiman) lives in Ramallah and the woman (Manal Khader) lives in Jerusalem. He is unable to cross the checkpoint between the two places so they meet right on the border of the checkpoint and hang out together. But this is not a conventional movie relationship. For one, the two never talk. Suleiman is the laconic silent time and sort of has a Buster Keaton look; heavy eyelids and a deadpan expression. She has big eyes and is very attractive and rarely does much except in two scenes when she struts her stuff in front of some Israelis – who apparently only have respect for sexy looking Palestinian women. Anyway, whatever relationship they have with one another is not explored.

The other plot point deals with the main character and his father (Nayef Fahoum Daher) who collapses in the beginning and has been taken to a hospital. Yet it takes a while to establish this link between the two characters. And in some ways it is not really important – since the father's death is used more as a self-reflexive plot point than a real event.

But that is part of the enjoyment of the film; it is aware if itself. In many ways too the filmmaker has the sensibilities of a cartoonist; particularly with the framing, the pacing and the visual humor. His cinematic style is similar to Jacques Tati, Jim Jarmusch, Aki Kaurismaki; each of whom use wry deadpan scenes that point out humor and often bizarre situations.

The difference between Suleiman and these other filmmakers is that he has a political edge. There are some scenes that will undoubtedly make some Israelis and Jews upset. In one scene he lets loose a helium balloon with a picture of Yasir Arafat which floats across the border. The scene can be read as symbolic or just funny; or maybe not funny at all depending on your view. But Suleiman knows how to use irony and humor well enough that any open minded viewer should be able to understand the finer points of his message.

Video:
The aspect ratio is 1.85:1 and looks quite good. The film is shot in a rather pedestrian way. There are no great visually cinematic moments and yet it has the warm look of film.

Audio:
The film is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The language is in Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles. The film has many quite moments but it has a very good soundtrack when it kicks in. Some of the music is from electronica whiz Amon Tobin and Mirwais as well as an interesting cover of Screamin' Jay Hawkin's 'I Put a Spell on You.'

Extras:
The only extra is a trailer.

Overall:
Divine Intervention is a comedy made up of wry observations dealing with various characters in Ramallah and Jeruselum. The film will most likely be appreciated by the art house cinemagoers or viewers patient enough to enjoy a slowly unfolding intellectual comedy. The DVD looks very good. The DVD is a Canadian release so may be difficult to find but seek it out if you are interested. There are not many filmmakers from the Palestinian region of Israel so for that reason alone Divine Intervention – which won the Grand Jury Prize in Cannes in 2002 – is worth a look.