All That's Left of You
Feelings of grief, anger and hatred are sometimes passed down from generation to generation. Jordanian-American director Cherien Dabis shows what that means in concrete terms in this heart-wrenching but never sentimental drama about three generations of a Palestinian family. Dabis not only wrote the screenplay and directed the film, she also plays one of the leading roles, alongside a cast that is convincing in every respect.
West Bank, 1988: teenager Noor is seriously injured during a protest against the Israeli occupation. His mother Hanan (Dabis) tells the story of how this could have happened, sometimes addressing the viewer directly. It all begins in 1948, the year in which Noor's grandfather Sharif, in an act of desperation, tries to make a normal life possible for himself and his family in Jaffa. But all the violence plaguing the area makes that impossible. This also has a major impact on his son Salim, who will later marry Noor. His experiences with the Israeli army prove to be formative for Noor.
