Film guide 2009
The Time That Remains
Family memories connect four periods of Palestinian life, from 1948 into a later generation.
- Original title
- The Time That Remains
- Director
- Elia Suleiman
- Year
- 2009
Editorial profile. Availability on LAREINE TV has not been confirmed.
Story, without spoilers
Moving between historical episodes, the film follows a family whose ordinary routines continue amid political upheaval. Fuad's experience in 1948 gives way to the childhood and later life of Elia. Home, neighbours and parents become points of continuity across a changing and constrained world.
Context & recognition
Elia Suleiman drew on his father's diaries, his mother's letters and his own memories for this partly autobiographical work. Its family perspective and deadpan humour accompanied its selection for the Cannes competition in 2009.
Main characters & cast
Elia
Elia Suleiman
The adult son, played by the filmmaker himself.
Fuad
Saleh Bakri
Elia's father, a resistance fighter in 1948.
The mother, 1970–80
Samar Qudha Tanus
Elia's mother during the film's middle periods.