Sundance Review: “All That’s Left of You”
Written by: Hannah Tran | February 4th, 2025

All That’s Left of You (Cherien Dabis, 2025) 4½ out of 5 stars
It may be impossible to condense a history that feels as vast and complex as Palestine’s into a single story. But through the lens of a family, All That’s Left of You—from director Cherien Dabis (Amreeka)—reminds us how storytelling can stir all-encompassing emotions capable of capturing something much larger. Spanning almost 75 years, Dabis’ film creates an epic tale with an intimate landscape. It is gentle, but never weak; narrow, but never narrow-minded.
The movie begins with a moment of innocence: two boys playfully chasing each other through the streets of the West Bank. This moment is cut short by the sound of a bullet, a sound that reverberates through the past and future of the film’s duration. Left without answers regarding the bullet’s fate, we are met with mother, Hanan, played by Dabis herself. She looks the viewer in the eye and asks them to listen to a story about her son. But first, she explains, she must tell the story of his grandfather. What follows is the tale of three generations of men, spanning from the orange groves of Jaffa to the modern sprawl of Tel Aviv.
Dabis moves gracefully through each generation, creating many relatable and deeply empathetic characters along the way. Within its depiction of the past, it has a timeless look that depicts Palestinian places and people with rich colors and textures and beauty. While the uneasy beginning might make it seem unclear where the story is headed, fully giving into the pace and surprising change of pace within the film allows for its eventual emotional flood to be felt most deeply.

This depiction of the past creates many parallels that uncover the immense loss experienced by its characters: loss of history, home, family, healthcare, and safety. Yet, within this pain, the film finds an ultimately hopeful perspective. That is not to say it disregards that pain. In one of its final scenes, a conversation between Hanan and an Israeli man, Dabis explores that pain head-on. She articulates its causes and effects so clearly and makes such a simple, yet impactful defense of Palestinian humanity.
The sum of all of its parts makes of All That’s Left of You a story that is at once deeply relevant and regrettably eternal. It approaches a divisive and wholly heartbreaking history with grace and beauty. And as it depicts how war and suffering and trauma can transcend time and people, it reminds us how courage and love can, too.