Reviews

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  ★★★★ review by Mike D'Angelo on Letterboxd

  74/100

  Pupil-overtakes-the-master time, as I like this even more than my favorite Elia Suleiman film (The Time That Remains). He gets a big, isolated thank you in the closing credits, confirming my late-breaking speculation about his influence; turns out Haj actually worked on Time That Remains, as a set decorator. Key word is "late-breaking," though. While Haj borrows Suleiman's droll absurdism and structural gamesmanship, her sensibility is warmer, less caustic; all of the vignettes—even the saddest one—conclude on lovely, unapologetically sentimental notes. And because the characters are related, it's not even clear for a long time that they inhabit what are essentially separate vignettes (as opposed to, say, a sprawling Altmanesque tapestry). The film gradually expands and then just as gradually contracts, with the first narrative threads introduced being the last resolved, and vice versa. Some clunky moments—the woman playing the American movie producer or whatever is terrible—but Haj's optimism in the face of despondency penetrated my armor multiple times. It's amazing how differently a potentially crowdpleasing setpiece plays when it's mediated by the reflection of the two Israeli security officers impassively observing it.

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  ★★★★ review by Elena Lazic on Letterboxd

  "This is the second film at Cannes this year, along with the Romanian Sieranevada, to tackle the way we sometimes take our loved ones for granted. While Sieranevada looked at this from a peculiarly Eastern Orthodox tradition, the Palestinian Personal Affairs, presented in the Un Certain Regard section, takes a more universal approach. By focussing on each character’s love life, Personal Affairs offers a gendered and decidedly feminist consideration of the way people can sometimes forget or refuse to treat their loved ones with the respect they deserve."

  My full review for The Seventh Row.

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  ★★★½ review by vvranv on Letterboxd

  מאוד מושפעת מאיליה סולימאן
  
  אוסף של אפיזודות קומיות בחייה של משפחה אחת
  
  גם אם לפעמים ישיר מדי או "מבויים" מדי סה"כ יש מספיק רגעים מקסימים וחזקים בשביל ליצור אפקט מצטבר

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  ★★★½ review by juliettecal on Letterboxd

  The poster introduced it as a comedy, yet it isn't made for the viewer to laugh. It was very subtile, with a lot of "Paterson" vibes (little obsessions, routine, same sort of relationships). Extremely pleasant to watch. Some of the scenes are quite memorable. And the whole cast is great, except the only two American actresses.

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  ★★★½ review by Lucio on Letterboxd

  Due anziani genitori a Nazareth, tre figli tra Ramallah e Stoccolma. Depressione, vita quotidiana, molti sorrisi.

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