Paradise Now (2005)

Two childhood friends are recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.

Director:

Hany Abu-Assad

Writers:

Hany Abu-Assad, Bero Beyer

Stars:

Lubna Azabal, Hamza Abu-Aiaash, Kais Nashif

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 14 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lubna Azabal	...	Suha
Hamza Abu-Aiaash	...	Checkpoint Soldier
Kais Nashif	...	Said
Lotuf Neusser	...	Car Owner
Ali Suliman	...	Khaled
Mohammad Bustami	...	Abu-Salim
Ahmad Fares	...	Tea Boy
Waleed On-Allah	...	Taxidriver Suha
Asaad Dwikat	...	Shawarma Shop Owner
Imad Saber	...	Shawarma Customer
Mohammad Kosa	...	Photographer
Amer Hlehel	...	Jamal
Hiam Abbass	...	Said's Mother
Nour Abd El-Hadi	...	Said's Sister
Amjad Al-Imlah	...	Said's Brother

Storyline

In Nablas on the West Bank, Said and Khaled, who have volunteered to be suicide bombers, receive word it will be tomorrow - the cell's first operation in two years. They're shaven and shorn, in black suits to pose as settlers in Tel Aviv for a wedding. Something goes wrong at the crossing, they're separated, and the action is postponed, long enough for renewed questioning of what they're about to do. Suha, the well-educated and well-traveled daughter of a martyr, challenges the action. She likes Said and has her own ideas. "Under the occupation, we're already dead," is Khaled's analysis. Fate and God's will seem to drive Said. We must be moral, argues Suha. Can minds change?

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Plot Keywords:

friend | settler | martyr | fate | suicide bomber | 

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Taglines:

From the most unexpected place, comes a bold new call for peace.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material and brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp] Warner Independent Pictures [us]

Country:

Palestine France Germany Netherlands Israel

Language:

Arabic English

Release Date:

7 September 2005 (France)

Also Known As:

El paraíso ahora

Filming Locations:

Nablus, Palestine

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$7,144 (Hong Kong) (2 June 2006)

Gross:

$15,806 (Hong Kong) (9 June 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Augustus Film, Lama Productions, Razor Film Produktion GmbH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jina Sumedi wrote an original score for the film that ultimately was not used.

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Goofs

When Khaled makes his speech for the second time, two of the people watching him are eating pitta. The man with the purple T-shirt is holding the pitta with his right hand in one shot, with his left in the next.

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Quotes

Jamal: If you're not afraid of death, you're in control of life.

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Connections

Featured in Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People (2006)

User Reviews

Boundaries, Checkpoints, and Martyrdom

PARADISE NOW opens windows of information to those of us who do not live in the Middle East and who toil over understanding the strife that daily bitterly continues, bruising the lives of both ends of the polarity that separates the peoples of the region. Are there ever to be answers or solutions to the crises? For this viewer watching and absorbing PARADISE NOW is illuminating in that it removes the expected political preaching to focus on the minds of the people living under the daily stress of life at its most difficult. Taking us there, making ideas into people with all the convictions and rebelliousness and fragility, writer/director Hany Abu-Assad (with Bero Beyer) offers invaluable insights and in the end we are left with a story about humanity and the consequences of decisions, and the desperate need for peace.

Said (Kais Nashef) and Khaled (Ali Suliman) are childhood friends in Palestine who have been elected to be suicide bombers in an attack on Tel Aviv. Their election to be martyrs for the destruction of the 'invaders' is considered an honor: their deaths will bring glory to their country, their families, and guarantee them instant entry into heaven. We see the two men as citizens living in the dusty hovels, facing barricades and checkpoints that make their lives ones of constant stress. Martyrdom will bring them peace and eternal rest. The entire process of preparing the elected martyrs, from making farewell videotapes for their parents, to having their hair cut short, to having the bombs strapped to their bodies, to dressing them in black suits for the 'wedding' they are instructed to claim to attend in Tel Aviv, to sending them off at the designated spot is relentlessly filmed. Said and Khaled accept their roles although with varying degrees of emotional commitment. At the point where the lads are to begin their martyrdom venture they are separated and the story is how each continues living, each now alone.

The families and the perpetrators of the scheme are well drawn by a strong cast, with one female role Suha (Lubna Azabal) as a voice of reason and peace standing out particularly strongly. The sensitivity of the actors Kais Nashef and Ali Suliman keeps this drama from sinking into politicism and instead allows us to understand the inner turmoil of the two men they portray as they cope with their duties and their lives.This is a powerful document that serves as a plea for peace wherever terrorism is a factor - and now that is global. If more of us could watch and absorb films such as PARADISE NOW perhaps the itinerant boundaries separating mankind by misunderstanding could be reduced without the need for war. Highly Recommended. In Arabic with English subtitles. Grady Harp