Chronicle of a Disappearance

1996
Chronicle of a Disappearance
6.9| 1h28m| en| More Info
Released: 01 September 1996 Released
Producted By: CNC
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Chronicle of a Disappearance unfolds in a series of seemingly unconnected cinematic tableaux, each of them focused on incidents or characters which seldom reappear later in the film. Among the many unrelated scenes, there is a Palestinian actress struggling to find an apartment in West Jerusalem, the owner of the Holy Land souvenir shop preparing merchandise for incoming Japanese tourists, a group of old women gossiping about their relatives, and an Israeli police van which screeches to a halt so several heavily armed soldiers can get off the car and urinate.

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markboulos When I saw this at the National Film Theatre on the South Bank, I was a bit nervous, because I knew nothing of the film and had invited three friends (all of us filmmakers). Afterwards they all thanked me for bringing them--we had laughed through the entire movie, with the whole audience. The film is largely composed of seemingly unrelated comedy sketches. The comedy is very simple, often physical, sometimes surrealist. Every joke is funny. The film is a poignant comment on the Israeli Occupation of Palestine, but made before the New Intifada, so there is not the gravity of Suleiman's celebrated 'Divine Intervention.' Please see this film, it's absolutely wonderful.
kwhatever55 My guess regarding all the props used in the film, is that is was created to break expectations of genres and stereotypes of Palestinians. We see a beautiful Arab woman unable to rent a flat in Jerusalem because others can tell over the phone that she is arab and not Israeli. We then see her with two men strapping wires around her, telling her where the remote is, and where to insert the powder. This turned out to be a fireworks display they were showing her. The viewer will also see things such as guns and grenades, which turn out to be lighters, Israeli police hastingly exiting a van with their rifles and lining up against a wall so they can all pee together next to each other. Our main character, the director, is somehow unable or chooses not to speak in this film. After coming back from NYU, Suileman is supposed to return to Palestine to present a film about peace, and is unable to speak, or is never given the chance to even when on a podium. Long takes, long moments of silence, and constant humored dialog and dashed expectations are what makes this mysterious film. Theres a mix of languages, including Arabic, English, French, Russian, and Hebrew. So many things about it, a college course could be taught on it. This is not the film you want to see if you are looking for propaganda, rather it falls more into the art film realm.
marushka72 Totally pretentious bunch of crap. Do yourself a favor and avoid it at all cost. Save the money for something more productive (and there are so many things more productive than going to this movie) Also... never believe a word of the stuff they write in film festival catalogues... trust your instincts.
dzong First of all, let's get one thing straight....I love foreign films. I even love Iranian films (at least I loved Colours of Paradise). And yet I didn't think I would ever get through this movie and it's not that long. I would have no idea what it was about if I hadn't read the back of the box.In brief, the "movie" consists of a long series of interminable vignettes, usually with no dialogue, no character development, and no point. Every 20 minutes or so (seems like longer), there is an actual scene with some interesting characters who for the most part are not heard from again. Then there's some nonsense about a Palestinian woman who gets hold of a Police CB. I was looking forward to seeing a Palestinian film to see what a Palestinian director would have to say...Not necessarily about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (though that would be interesting too...) but about SOMETHING, damn it! This film was a huge disappointment. Don't watch it unless you are expecting a documentary, and a dull one at that.