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Sundance 2025: 'All That's Left of You' is a painfully beautiful family portrait


Saleh Bakri and Cherien Dabis appear in All That's Left of You by Cherien Dabis, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
Saleh Bakri and Cherien Dabis appear in All That's Left of You by Cherien Dabis, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
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All That’s Left of You
4.5 out of 5 Stars
Director:
Cherien Dabis
Writer: Cherien Dabis
Starring: Cherien Dabis, Saleh Bakri, Adam Bakri, Mohammad Bakri, Maria Zreik, Muhammad Abed Elrahman

Synopsis: After a Palestinian teen confronts Israeli soldiers at a West Bank protest, his mother recounts the series of events that led him to that fateful moment, starting with his grandfather’s forced displacement.

Review: The Israeli and Palestinian conflict is something that I’ve been aware of for my entire life. As a child I used to watch the news while my mother prepared to go to work. The 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon War took place three days before my sixth birthday. I didn’t understand the nuances of the conflict. I’m not going to claim to fully understand the complexities now.

The film begins with a pair of teenagers chasing each other through the twisting streets of a city. The duo come upon a group of Palestinian protestors and join the march. Bullets fly.

Hanan (Cherien Dabis), the mother of one of the teens, invites the viewer to explore the past of her son so that we might understand the scene that has played out before us. We are taken back to when the teen’s grandfather was a child. Forced to leave their home as part of the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

We see the child grow, become a man, and in time a father to the child who grows into the teen we see in the film’s opening. There are life defining moments in what is an intimate exploration of a Palestinian family. It is unflinchingly beautiful, heart wrenchingly sad, and ultimately a testament to humanity that extends beyond religion or politic.

The performances are impeccable, the cinematography is frequently breathtaking, the script is finely tuned, and the direction flawless. Writer/director/star Cherien Dabis has made a film that is both intimate and monumental.

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