‘All That’s Left Of You’ Is a Powerful, Patient Film That Lets History Speak in Silence

Genre– Drama
Director – Cherien Dabis
Writer – Cherien Dabis
Cast – Cherien Dabis, Saleh Bakri, Mohammad Bakri, Adam Bakri, Maria Zreik, Muhammad Abed Elrahman, Sanad Alkabareti and Salah El Din
Runtime – 146 Minutes
My Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐☆☆

Where to watch/stream All That’s Left Of You

It’s heartbreaking, beautiful, and quietly enraging

All That’s Left Of You will leave you thinking about history, family, and loss – or at least it should do.

Plot Summary of All That’s Left Of You (Spoiler-Free)

All That’s Left Of You is the story of one Palestinian family living in the West Bank, and the weight of history pressing down on them over three generations.

The film starts in 1948 during the Nakba, when the patriarch Sharif struggles to protect his home and his orange orchard from invading forces, while also holding onto hope for a future that feels increasingly impossible.

From there, the story jumps forward to the 1970s and 1980s, focusing on Sharif’s children as they raise their own families in a world that has grown more bureaucratic but no less harsh, before the film eventually lands in the present day, following Sharif’s grown son Salim, his wife Hanan, and their children, showing how decades of occupation shape choices, relationships, and daily life.

It’s a family saga at heart, but one stretched across the backdrop of decades of political and social upheaval, and it’s deeply personal even as it tackles historical events.

All That’s Left Of You Review: Is It Worth Watching?

All That’s Left Of You is a film that wants to do it all – cover decades, tell a family story, and make you think about history, loss, and resilience – and for the most part, it succeeds.

But it’s not always easy to sit through, and it’s also quite a simple film in some ways, too.

There are no sweeping cinematic tricks, no over-the-top drama, no background score trying to tell you how to feel, as it wants you to feel the tension in silence, and to see the history unfold in the quiet moments.

Sharif (played by Adam Bakri) is brave, stubborn, and a little naïve, and you can’t help but feel for him when the forces around him seem unstoppable, as we watch him fight to save his home and his orchard is heartbreaking, because you know, even before the film shows it, that history isn’t on his side.

The first third of the movie, set in 1948, is probably the strongest though, as the stakes are clear, the emotions are straightforward, and the tension is at its strongest, and you can feel the weight of displacement and loss in every scene.

But even here, I found myself frustrated at times, as moments that should be really hitting like a sledgehammer – like when Sharif is confronted with the brutal reality of what’s happening – sometimes land softly, as if the film is afraid to fully go there, and maybe that’s deliberate, maybe it’s a restraint meant to honor the story, but it left me wanting a little more rawness, and a little more punch to it.

By the time we reach the 1970s and 1980s, the film takes a subtler approach, as Sharif’s children are now adults raising their own families, and life has shifted into a mix of quiet oppression and bureaucratic struggle – it’s less immediately dramatic, but there’s a heavy weight to it that creeps up slowly, as you start noticing the little ways occupation changes everyday life..

Then we have the present-day sections, where Salim (played by Saleh Bakri) and Hanan (Cherien Dabis herself) face moral and practical dilemmas that feel thornier and less black-and-white than the first generation’s fight.

It’s here that the film’s subtleties really shine – there’s no “villain” in the traditional sense, just a system, a history, and circumstances that corner the characters in ways you can’t always solve, as Dabis slowly drains the color from the frame as the story moves forward, a quiet but effective visual signal that contrasts the bright, vibrant world of 1948 with the muted, constrained present.

I don’t think I’ve ever noticed myself noticing color in a film as consciously as I did here, either.

The acting in All That’s Left If You also works most of the time, but sometimes left me wishing for a bigger emotional punch, as while the quieter performances make the historical sweep feel fairly raw, certain moments, particularly in the first generation, could have carried more raw anguish.

Dabis herself as Hanan is quietly excellent, especially in the present-day sections, where she brings a sense of fatigue, love, and frustration.

Covering seventy-five years of history in one film is a hell of a task too, and Dabis takes it on with both sweeping epic scope and intimate detail, where you get the feeling she’s lived with these stories in her head for years, maybe decades, and wants to tell them carefully – you have to appreciate and respect that care, but, of course, ambition comes with its own problems.

Some sections feel slower than they need to be, and the nearly 150-minute runtime tests your patience at certain parts of the time, but for the most part the pacing was fine for me.

The film is also gorgeous – the pre-Nakba sections are full of color, life, and vibrancy, and it makes the contrast with the present all the more striking as mentioned, where the camera lingers on the land, the home, the orchard, and the people in a way that makes you feel both close and powerless to intervene.

It will make you think about history, family, and what it means to survive through decades of struggle, as All That’s Left Of You combines the personal with the political, and the intimate with the epic, where the ambition, the care, the human detail, and the historical sweep make it a film you can’t just forget.

What I liked (And What I Didn’t like)

Pros

Ambition

Covering seventy-five years of Palestinian history in one film is insane.

Strong First-Generation Story

Sharif’s story in 1948 is heartbreaking,.

Quiet Emotion

The subtlety in acting and storytelling allows the emotion to shine though in every quiet ways.

Visual Storytelling

The contrast between the colorful past and muted present is simple but effective.

Moral Questions

The later generations face dilemmas without easy answers.

Casting

Adam Bakri and Saleh Bakri are both excellent, and Dabis is strong in her own role.

Pacing That Matches the Story

The slower pace works most of the time.

Ambition

It’s ambitious but never loses sight of the human family at its center.

Cons

Occasionally Muted Emotions

Some moments that should hit you harder feel too underplayed.

Slow Middle Section

The 1970s and 1980s storylines are less gripping than the first generation.

Underpowered Impact in Some Scenes

Certain tragedies don’t land as strongly as they could.

Who Might Like All That’s Left Of You

• Fans of multi-generational family dramas
• Anyone interested in Middle Eastern history and culture
• Those who appreciate slow, patient storytelling
• People who like movies that make you think rather than entertain superficially
• If you notice and appreciate visual details like color and composition
• Those who want films that tackle real-world struggles honestly

Who Might Dislike All That’s Left Of You

• Those who dislike slow, quiet films
• If you’re unwilling to pay close attention
• People who dislike nearly 150-minute runtimes
• Anyone sensitive to subtle emotional restraint

Final Verdict: Did I Enjoy Watching All That’s Left Of You?

All That’s Left Of You is quiet, heartbreaking, frustrating, and a beautiful film all at once.

It’s impossible to watch it and not think about what is going on, and after watching it you feel like you have spent time with a family, and I won’t forget it anytime soon.

All That’s Left Of You Trailer

Simon Leasher

A lover of cinema for over 35 years, I have watched many films from around the world in many different genres, yet I still normally always come back to trashy slasher horror films when in doubt. More

And yes, The Godfather 2 is better than The Godfather.