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Cherien DabissAll Thats Left of Youis a moral fable in the guise of an epic family drama.
Therein lies its surprising power and, maybe, its occasional awkwardness.
The boy doesnt re-emerge.
We get no context as to whom, or where, or why shes saying these words.
His family, meanwhile, finds itself in a refugee camp.
This might be a function of limited resources and a chaotic production.
But the closed-off style also reflects the cloistered nature of the characters.
As war and displacement consume them, their isolation grows.
These historical episodes demonstrate the never-ending cycles of humiliation Palestinians have had to suffer.
(Those worried about the narrative being spoiled might want to tread carefully from here on out.)
And finally, Dabis does allow us to spend time with these people.
Suddenly, these people come to life before our eyes.
It is belated, but welcome.
(I wont say what it is, but the title offers a hint.)
This might explain why Dabis plays it all so straight, at times stone-faced.
But that seems to be the point, too.
Rather, in its own uneven but artful way, it shows us the alienation that survival sometimes requires.
By the end, I was destroyed.
