Divine Intervention

Reviewed by Colin Stewart

Divine Intervention combines a microcosmic study of ‘getting on with your neighbour’ with an allegorical investigation of Arab-Israeli relations. It begins with a series of muted vignettes: the camera shots are long; the tone deadpan; the action a comic silent mime. Words are not needed here.

One man throws his rubbish into a neighbour’s garden; another sabotages an access road that encroaches on his land. These close interactions – lives affecting one another intimately are revealed one level at a time: action – then reaction; consequence – then cause. Two men sit watching everything unfold, (like the audience does): we are all, similarly, complicit unless we act.

The picture of a divided community is expanded by the portrayal of two lovers a man living in Palestine, and his Ramallah-based girlfriend. They meet at an Israeli army checkpoint – an ultimately artificial barrier which keeps them apart – where they silently observe the soldiers’ aggressive and often absurd actions.

The cinematography is beautiful throughout, but the imagery is uneven. At its best, oblique: the ubiquitous cigarette central icon in many scenes (including the hospital) becomes a symbol for the death we all inexorably face, and also for our shared humanity. At their worst the images are crudely surreal: an exploding tank, a ‘Crouching Tiger’ ballistic dance routine. These latter are needlessly obtrusive. Although making their own points and challenging our ‘comfort’ in the film – they result in colourful entertainment which could have come straight from Hollywood.

In front of a sharp soundtrack, the intricate visual detail its variety and layer – never wanes. Human emotion suffers, however, because of the film’s detached style, and the humour is engaging rather than laugh-out-loud. But the point is made: whatever the complexities – of situation, history and belief – basic intolerance and misunderstanding provides most of the fuel.