We have recently spoken about the effortless brilliance of Elia Suleiman, specifically in the context of Divine Intervention, his revolutionary and deeply profound film that consists of a series of interconnected vignettes that aim to show a different side of his native Palestine. A director with a small but meaningful body of work, every time he puts together a film, it feels like an event, handcrafted by a master of his craft (although his humility would probably scoff at such a description), who sets forward to tell beautifully bespoke stories that capture the spirit of the human condition. To date, his most recent effort is It Must Be Heaven, in which Suleiman plays a fictionalized version of himself, much like he did when portraying “E.S.” in his previous films, as he makes his way through Nazareth, as well as voyaging to Paris and New York City, all three locations being the setting for his vaguely surreal and delightfully irreverent adventures. A well-crafted, compelling and deeply funny film with an abundance of heart and sincerity that cannot be mimicked, and instead is only possible when occurring by someone who understands not only his craft but also the intentions that come when wielding such power to tell a story such as this, which Suleiman certainly does not take for granted. Delicate but forthright, and never anything less than totally engaging in a way that is always surprising and extremely meaningful, It Must Be Heaven is a blissful, charming existential odyssey that blurs genre and challenges conventions, put together by someone whose aims are pure and mastery of the medium never once called into question, all of which amounts to a thrilling and unquestionably detailed examination of society, taken from a unique and wonderfully quirky perspective.

Most of the time, our discussions of the film discuss the formal and traditional aspects of filmmaking before getting to the deeper message. Suleiman is the rare kind of director whose work is primarily defined by the deeper message, from which the more traditional cinematic aspects are constructed. Few directors have been able to make films that are this visually striking and undeniably meaningful in the stories they tell, which is why Suleiman is such a fascinating filmmaker and someone who would be far more celebrated if he only made films more regularly (but the sporadic nature of his work contributes to their status as delicate, unique works of art) since he is a singular talent with many very profound ideas, all of which he so effortlessly weaves into this narrative. Social order is the starting point for It Must Be Heaven, although it is most certainly not the only overarching theme that this film will investigate, but rather the foundation on which the story is constructed. He is a director who is very aware of current events, and as a Palestinian raised in Nazareth (which is still his home), his work is always a keen reflection of the socio-cultural milieu that he has encountered, both as an artist and human being, which factor into every word of his films, which blur the boundaries between fact and fiction, to the point where these stories become self-referential (there’s an amusing moment in this film where one of the characters mention that Suleiman is in the process of making the very film we are currently watching – metafictional storytelling is always fantastic when it is done well), and exist on margins of many different genres, which drive these narratives and make them so endearing, while also provoking difficult conversations, while still maintaining a sense of wonder and charm, which immediately distinguishes his work from nearly every other contemporary Middle Eastern filmmaker who pursue similar stories.

All of these intricate narrative decisions that look at how the director perceives the wider world occur within Suleiman’s very distinct, offbeat style that makes them quite different from his peers, who usually strive on social realism to tell their stories. It is not often we find a film that touches on themes such as the conflict between Israel and Palestine, while still being a comedy (or rather, we don’t find them in any other form than intentionally provocative satires), albeit a more gentle and nuanced one. Humour is often a tremendous narrative tool, and the director understands exactly how to use it to get satisfying and interesting results, even if he has to resort to stretching the limits of plausibility. Suleiman’s work is eccentric and absurd, and challenges not only social conventions, but the nature of reality as a whole. It isn’t clear why he chose to configure himself as a comedic filmmaker who happens to tell very serious stories, other than it being an active decision based on his interests. Many have considered him a modern-day Jacques Tati and Buster Keaton (which is only emphasized by the fact that he plays a wordless version of himself in all of his films, which makes the correlations between them seem quite obvious), where humour is the driving factor of these stories, which comment critically on society, even if their themes are not immediately visible. It takes some time to acclimate to what he is doing with this film, and it can be quite polarizing, especially when the film constantly feels like it is on the verge of collapsing in on itself, which mercifully never happens, since we are in the presence of a gifted filmmaker who knows exactly how to temper the tone of the film to match his intentions, building them together in synchronicity, pursuing some deeper message that is delivered with irreverent but heartful humour, which is not always common for stories that tackle such intimidating material.

However, if we put aside the more abstract elements and instead focus on the overall experience, we find that It Must Be Heaven is just as strong visually as it is narratively, which is quite an achievement considering how Suleiman spends an enormous amount of time creating an emotionally resonant story. This is a film that is driven by atmosphere, much of which comes through in the visual aspects – the composition of this film shows a level of prowess that is both intimidatingly brilliant, almost to the point where it betrays the more twee appearance of the film. What the director was aiming to do was to produce a beautiful and striking portrayal of the world, to reflect his position as a mere observer, gazing at the interminable beauty of whatever environment he finds himself in. He explores three extremely famous cities, each one distinct in appearance and known for different reasons, and in the process he exposes the beauty that lurk in these places, especially the elements that are usually overlooked or dismissed outright. There is a grandiosity in how he approaches these settings, and he usually focuses on those components that would not be emphasized, which makes It Must Be Heaven so much more compelling. The protagonist is clearly in search of the titular utopia, seeking it in both Paris and New York City, since he certainly didn’t find it in Nazareth – but ultimately, we discover that heaven isn’t a singular place, but rather a collection of awe-inspiring moments, which the film captures so beautifully and in such vivid detail. The visual symmetry, the unforgettable colours and the generally captivating imagery all work together to create something so extremely enticing.

There are many ways to describe what Suleiman does with It Must Be Heaven, and we can comment critically on both the visual and narrative details, looking at how they come together to create a vibrant and multifaceted portrait of the world and its occupants. However, he is a director with simple interests and straightforward intentions, both of which play into the fact that it would be difficult to find a film that is more compassionate and endearing than this one, which was designed to be a unifying work, an exploration of the belief that, regardless of the geographical or cultural boundaries that divide us, we are all part of the same metaphysical journey, experiencing many of the same peculiar aspects of life. We tend to see far too many stories designed to showcase how different we all are, but this film aims to show that there are more similarities than differences, with the small comparisons being expanded and the source of the wonderful and insightful commentary that Suleima infuses with generous helpings of gentle, meaningful humour. It is a simple and extremely effective film, one with a lot of heart and no shortage of charm, which is why it feels so thoroughly entertaining. It may be slight at some points, and its overall intentions may be a lot more ambigious than some of us may be willing to admit, but it has enough charm and candour to make up for all of it, with the well-crafted satire and heartful humour all amounting to a true delight of a film, one that celebrates life without avoiding the more serious conversations, which is enough to qualify It Must Be Heaven as a truly wonderful and effortlessly important work of contemporary artistic compassion.