There’s something to be said for a film whose elegant physical comedy makes me full-out chuckle. It Must Be Heaven is such a film.

However, it takes so long to get off the ground that it only manages to save itself — and not exceed expectations — by the end.

The film within a film about Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman, who does triple duty here, explores the director while he’s making a film about making a film about Palestine. Sound complicated? Well, once you get it, it’s a whole lot of fun.

It’s a half hour of slogging through before it really amps up, but It Must Be Heaven finds Suleiman leaving Palestine and finding elements of home basically everywhere he travels, much to his disdain.

It’s a lovely, wonderfully-shot film, and even if trivial in the end, it’s pretty beautiful to watch, and has some really funny sequences.

But make no mistake, it’s the directing, writing and wry, Charlie Chaplinesque performance from Suleiman that makes the whole thing worth it.

3.5/5 Stars