Heaven Before I Die (1997)

Jacob's feet are so turned out that he walks like Charlie Chaplin. He is different because of that and decides to emigrate from Palestine to Canada, where "everyone is equal". There ... See full summary »

Director:

Izidore K. Musallam

Writer:

Izidore K. Musallam

Stars:

Andy Velasquez, Giancarlo Giannini, Joanna Pacula

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andy Velasquez	...	Jacob
Giancarlo Giannini	...	Thief
Joanna Pacula	...	Selma
Geoffrey Lower	...	Sterrea
Burt Young	...	Pollof
Joseph Bologna	...	(as Joe Bologna)
Omar Sharif	...	Khalil Gibran
Hannin Eisa Abu-Alhumos	...	Baby Jacob
Mohammad Eisa Abu-Alhumos	...	Baby Jacob
Loutof Noeissr	...	Jacob's Father
Geula Ninu	...	Jacob's Mothert
Ruti Moinster	...	Nora
Yitzhak Ne'eman	...	Wise Man
Stan Wai	...	Informant
Alex Brown	...	Smuggler

Storyline

Jacob's feet are so turned out that he walks like Charlie Chaplin. He is different because of that and decides to emigrate from Palestine to Canada, where "everyone is equal". There everybody treats him kindly, and a thief specializing in stealing money from cash machines takes him into his home and treats him like a son, waitress Selma finds him a job as a Chaplin imitator, "prophet" Khalil Gibran gives him wise advice.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to charlie chaplin | silly walk | chaplin impersonator | arab canadian | independent film

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild language, and for elements of sensuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 January 2004 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Mennyország és pokol között

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brothers in Arms, PM Entertainment Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Crazy Credits

Thanks to: JACKIE K.

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Connections

Features The Cure (1917)

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Soundtracks

"Dance Me To The End Of Love"
Written and Performed by Leonard Cohen
By Arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment (Canada) Inc. and Leonard Cohen Stranger Music Inc.

User Reviews

this movie could be one of the best movies ever made

this movie could be one of the best movies ever made, for it's atmosphere so ironic and dramatic, wrapped in soft melancholy so to let you feel everything that's Canadian in Leonard Cohen's songs. if anyone doesn't understand that, they should probably not watch the movie. this is not a movie for stupid people to brag afterward that they have seen "the worst movie ever"... the movie is tagged as a "comedy". well then, this is the comedy to watch, for it doesn't get more comical then life not for an instant. it just acutes the senses and wakes the spirit by wrapping the action into a

kind of slow, drifting carelessness. Canada, "the promised land", is where everything is new, but easy to accept, if not to understand. this is what makes it like heaven for before death. the entire movie gives the feeling that life is being allowably watched taking its course, but the soft ironic-sadness feeling does not disappear. maybe because the only one watching that the human spirit reaches heaven is the spirit itself and that infinity only allows a heaven before we die.