ALL THAT'S LEFT OF YOU (Germany/Cyprus/Palestine/Jordan/Greece/Qatar/Saudi Arabia 2025) ****
Directed by Cherien Dabis
ALL THAT’S LEFT OF YOU and the recent German film THE SOUND OF FALLING share the identical theme of generations of a family, a time frame of almost a century. Both films suffer the same setbacks of being overlooked, the former lasting over 3 hours and the latter almost 3 hours. Another problem is the length of both films, that deter audiences from viewing the film. A major problem is that each film has to clearly identify each character and make each character radically distinguishable from the others. This is particularly bad in THE SOUND OF FALLING. The film gets confusing, and if one is lost at the halfway mark, sitting through the remaining three hours is useless. The use of intercut nonlinear chronological storytelling tends to confuse the storyline and also break the flow. of the narrative. Imagine stories like Charles Dickens’s OLIVER TWIST or GREAT EXPECTATIONS told in non-chronological order. The result will be disastrous
ALL THAT’S LEFT OF YOU, thankfully, has a stronger narrative to propel the story along. After a Palestinian teen gets swept up into a West Bank protest, his mother recounts the family story of hope (in flashback), courage and relentless struggle that led to this fateful moment.
The film is first set in 1988 West Bank, and then in 1948, Jaffa, Palestine.
In order to appreciate the story in the film, a bit of knowledge is required of both the West Band and Jaffa.
Tel Aviv, officially Tel Aviv-Yafo, and also known as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a population of 495,230, it is the economic and technological centre of the country and a global high-tech hub. The city, annexed to Jordan, surrendered to the Haganah on 14 May 1948 and shortly after, the British police and army left the city. Israeli historian Benny Morris writes that "There was widespread institutional and private looting by Haganah and IZL troops and Tel Aviv citizens who infiltrated the town, there was robbery on the roads by patrolling Jewish troops. The 3,800 Arabs who remained in Jaffa after the exodus were concentrated in the Ajami district and subject to strict martial law. The military administration in Jaffa lasted until 1 June 1949, at which point, the Tel Aviv Municipality took over the administration. The grandfather in the film has his story told in 1948 when the mayhem occurred.
The story travels to 1948 Jaffa and the Nakba, where Noor’s grandfather, Sharif, resists fleeing as Israeli forces expel Palestinians from their homes. His son Salim grows up under occupation, navigating the trauma of exile and the weight of a father's choices. The film portrays the personal costs of colonial violence while honouring Palestinian resilience and steadfast humanity.
Noor and his family are constantly harassed by the Israeli soldiers. One of the key scenes shows Noor’s father humiliated in front of him, an incident that Noor cannot accept, thus calling his father a coward. Looking at the father’s side, the father had no choice.
The film takes a personal approach to the story rather than a political one. But the effects are just as effective, with the film working best this way. A historical epic, the powerful film chronicles the story of the land through the eyes of one family and three generations of struggle. It is an emotional family portrait, examining the relationship between grandfather, father and son, and the legacy of trauma passed down to each. It is a drama with piercing moments of joy, love and humour that keep it from becoming too hard to watch.
ALL THAT’S LEFT OF YOU opens at the TIFF Lightboxon January 30th.
Trailer:
