Two boys scamper, laughing on rooftops. Agile, they leap down to the street, not missing momentum as they race in delight through narrow streets. Healthy, happy best friends, their chase game is abruptly blocked by a street protest. Shots. One boy, Noor, seeking cover behind a car door, is shot in the head.
His mother speaks to us, assuming an American audience: “I know you are wondering why we are here. You don’t know much about us. It’s okay. I’m not here to blame you. I am here to tell you who is my son. But in order to tell you, I must tell you what happened to his grandfather.”
Cherien Dabis, writer/director, has created the best film I have ever seen explaining the origin of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, using historical fiction as her vehicle and a dramatic cast without rivalry. Her film explains how Jaffa, the best orange capital of the world, was overcome and transformed into Tel Aviv and how Noor’s forebears went from prosperous orange growers to homeless refugees in the West Bank.
It all began in 1948 in Jaffa, which was famous for growing the best oranges in the world. Thick-skinned, sweet, juicy, and nearly seedless, they were the premier export from Palestine. Noor’s grandfather grew up there, inheriting his family home amidst their orange groves.
Dabis’s cast comprises the most magnificent Palestinian actors in the business. The famous Bakri family, led by their father, Mohammad Bakri, brilliantly impersonates the Palestinian patriarchy. Unfortunately, this was Bakri’s last film. A courageous actor famous for taking on films showing the truth of the Palestinian situation, he died of heart disease on Christmas Eve last year. Saleh Bakri (“The Teacher”) does an impressive job as his son and Adam Bakri (“If You See Something”) plays his father when he was young.
Dabis is a filmmaker split between worlds. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, her father is a physician of Palestinian descent, and her mother is Jordanian. She grew up amidst the values of the Midwest while experiencing the politics of the Middle East on summer visits. Professionally a writer, actress, and director, she received an Emmy nomination for directing episodes of the acclaimed comedic series “Murders in the Building.”
Her excellence in creating this brilliant historical fiction drama, “All That’s Left of You,” has so far garnered her six awards and was Jordan’s Oscar submission for Best International Feature Film. Each character and event represent the Palestinian experience. While the young boy, Noor, was shot in the head, he lives on and is the reason the film ends full circle back in Jaffa at the family’s confiscated homestead.
Apparently too honest and too courageous a film for final Oscar consideration, distribution is also challenging. Still, Dabis’s film, along with “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” ranks among the best of the decade if not the best ever made.
10/10
Credits
Director/Writer: Cherien Dabis
Producers: Thanassis Karathanos, Cherien Dabis, Martin Hampel and Karim Amer
Cast: Saleh Bakri, Cerien Dabis, Mohammad Bakri, Adam Bakri, Maria Zreik, and Muhammad Abed Elrahman, Sanad Alkabareti, and Salah El Din
Executive Producers: Javier Bardem and Mark Ruffalo
Cinematography: Christopher Aoun
Editor: Tina Baz
Music: Amine Bouhafa
Release: Limited releasse on Jan. 9, 2026, Jan. 25, 2026 and more theaters Jan. 30
Official Website and how to see: https://allthatsleftofyou.com/
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