Two childhood friends are recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.Two childhood friends are recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.Two childhood friends are recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.
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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
A key humanization comes during the filming of the video glorifying Allah. Said stands tall, hoisting a rifle and talking about his loyalty to Allah and the message he brings. After one take, the director discovers the video didn't record properly, so they're forced to set up and do it again. Another technical-difficulty occurs during the second taping before the third taping gets it right on the money. Following the director's demand to "cut," Said yells upstairs to his mother that he found water filters cheaper at a place they normally don't go to.
Such dialog seems trite and padded, but writers Abu-Assad, Bero Beyer, and Pierre Hodgson include these kind of things as a reminder that these suicide bombers are, one, indeed human, two, have families, and three, don't always operate with the kind of breakneck sophistication that we see dramatized on Television shows and Hollywood movies. Mainstream American cinema has had us quietly conditioned to think that everyone in the Middle East is an enemy that possesses enough power and wit to take down America and all its people, almost encouraging us to sleep with one eye open. Abu-Assad, in an act of deviance, shows us the kind of amateur setups these operations often are and the humanity of the characters that are involved with these sort of incidents.
In all the glorification, the frenzied reports, and the fear-mongering in America that concerns the Middle East, America's war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the proclaimed War on Terror, Paradise Now is a refreshing and necessary watch to at least give us a more realistic view on how these operations can be conducted. It's rare we see characters like terrorists and suicide bombers drawn in multiple layers, if even presented as characters at all, so the fact that Nashef and Suliman's characters are given names and personalities is a huge step in a progressive direction. The bravery to make a film like this and rise above all the nonsense was a bold feat on part of Abu-Assad and his crew, who had to jump through several hoops to get this film made.
From attacks on the set, to interference from actual protest, to threats of censorship from the Israeli government, Paradise Now was in production in the 1990's, but repeated incidents of drama and danger prevented its completion until 2005. Following its release, it became the first Palestinian film to be nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards, deservingly so. In response, Abu-Assad made probably one of the best comments that could've been made about the film's recognition, saying, "the politicians want to see it as black and white, good and evil, and art wants to see it as a human thing," reminding people that, at the end of the day, these are human lives we're talking about on both ends of the spectrum and that fact should never be lost despite being amidst a wealth of oversimplifications.
Starring: Kais Nashef, Ali Suliman, Lubna Azabal, and Hiam Abbass. Directed by: Hany Abu-Assad.
The film follows Said and Khaled, two friends who are recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel-Aviv. However, something goes wrong and the attack is postponed. Said and Khaled now have the time to think about what they are going to do.
The feelings of the two leading characters are carefully explained and brought to you very realistically by an outstanding performance of Ali Suliman and Kais Nashef. Though it's a little long-winded in the end the story is excellently written. The film explains a difficult situation without taking a stand or forcing you to do so. People who've seen this film will hopefully better understand the Israel-Palestine situation.
Conclusion: Paradise Now is a brilliantly made movie and a must see for everyone.
It's obvious that suicide bombers are murderers, but it's also obvious that they are victims from Hamas, Hezbollah, Israel, USA and everyone that gets profits with the violence in the Middle East, so this movie wasn't special to me for showing some kind of sympathy for terrorism if it does. The role of this movie for me was to show a humanized version of a group of people that I usually only take acknowledge by the TV as people whose only objective is to kill the highest possible amount of people.
Here in Brazil we don't have ethnic or religious wars. Here, Palestinians and Jews live sometimes in the same neighborhood and there's never been a terrorist attack. On the other hand, we've got extremely serious problems with violence caused by the oppression that poor people suffer from the Police, that seems only to exist to protect the rich. In May, a criminal organization called PCC (Capital's First Command) attacked more than a hundred of places (most Police stations) in São Paulo, killing approximately one hundred people.
Are these criminals originally bad or their acts are just the consequence of an extremely unequal society? Well, on the TV we only see the criminals and the terrorists, but thank God we have movies like City of God, Carandiru and Paradise Now to show us the human beings.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen the film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, much controversy surrounded the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' decision to designate it as a submission from the Palestinian Authority, rather than Palestine. Due to much protestation from writer-director Hany Abu-Assad, the film was eventually announced by Will Smith as being a submission from the Palestinian territories.
- GoofsWhen 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.
- Quotes
Said: I was born in a refugee camp. I was allowed to leave the west Bank only once. I was 6 at the time and needed surgery. Life here is like life imprisonment. The crimes of the occupation are countless. The worst crime of all is to exploit the people's weaknesses and turn them into collaborators. By doing that, they not only kill the resistance, they also ruin families, ruin their dignity, and ruin an entire people. When my father was executed, I was 10 years old. He was a good person. But he grew weak. For that, I hold the occupation responsible. They must understand that if they recruit collaborators, they must pay the price for it. A life without dignity is worthless. Especially when it reminds you day after day, of humiliation and weakness. And the world watches cowardly, indifferently. If you're all alone, faced with this oppression... you have to find a way to stop the injustice. They must understand that if there's no security for us there'll be none for them either. It's not about power. Their power doesn't help them. I tried to deliver this message to them but I couldn't find another way. Even worse, they've convinced the world and themselves that they are the victims. How can that be? How can the occupier be the victim? If they take on the role of oppressor and victim then I have no other choice but to also be a victim and a murderer as well. I don't know how you'll decide, but I will not return to the refugee camp.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards 2006 (2006)
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- Release date
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- Also known as
- El paraíso ahora
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Box office
- Budget
- $2,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,457,843
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $48,023
- Oct 30, 2005
- Gross worldwide
- $3,579,902
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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