Paradise Now
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DVD Cover Information
Primary Contributor: Kais NashefDVD: Region Code 1
Format: Full length
Running Time: 91 unknown-units
Published: 2006
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Warner Independent Pictures
Movie Reviews of Paradise Now
Movie Review: Oscar Worthy Performance!
Summary: 5 Stars
Hany Abu-Assad has done a masterful job putting a human face to suicide bombing in Israel. It is rare to find a movie that touches on an issue as controversial as this one. And even though it presents a rather one-sided approach to the topic (i.e. the Palestinian side), the movie is refreshingly well portrayed. The key to understanding why this movie will appeal to people on both sides of the issue is that it isn't trying to answer the moral question at hand (...are Palestinian suicide bombers justified?). Rather, Abu-Assad is merely presenting a human being that is struggling with a passion for religion and country, who ultimately has to choose between "paradise now" or hell on earth, while leaving the moral question for the audience to decide.
Likewise, it would be difficult to encapsulate the many reasons behind Palestinian suicide bombing in a two hour movie. So be aware that the arguments for or against suicide bombing, while present in minor dialogue throughout the movie, never culminate into a deep and powerful argument one way or the other. Rather, the audience is left to make their own decisions based on their own viewpoints about this sort of thing, which is exactly why both sides will gain something from watching it. Besides, when it comes to any act of agression, there will always exist many different perspectives regarding the major and minor movements towards such acts. The movie portrays the conflict of rural vs. modern living in the midst of the confrontation, and makes it out to be a major player in the battle, but I have to question whether the religious motives were shown accurately or at all, since religious motives can lead people to do things that they may otherwise not do in similar situations. All this aside, as I pointed out before, the reasons for the agression are left to the audience to decide, as we are never presented with the full world view of the two main characters, nor the views of their leaders. In other words, Assad meets the audience "halfway" in the debate, and presents a powerful story of two men in the midst of the Palestinian mission. Walking out of this movie, I could barely resist thinking myself through the entire movie again with my own viewpoints as the medium for analysis.
The movie follows the lives of two men named Khaled and Said who are Palestinian car mechanics. Suha, the daughter of Abu Assam a famous anti-Israeli leader, meets Said when she goes to pick her car up at his shop. This is the beginning of a relationship between Said and Suha. When Khaled and Said are chosen for a suicide mission, the first one in two years, the men strap bombs to themselves and prepare for death. But when the plan hits a road block, the men have to re-evaluate whether or not suicide bombing is the answer after all. In the end, Suha is the loudest voice against the suicide bombing and she fights till the end to prevent it from happening.
The cast does an Oscar worthy job in portraying the reality of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. The plot is engaging and takes plenty of unexpected turns, and the settings are well done and well shot. Overall, this movie has to be one of the best this year for its venturesome topic, unromantic characterizations, and its poignant storyline.
Summary of Paradise Now
"The year's most insightful and unvarnished look at the motivations of terrorism." John Anderson, NEWSDAYSimilar DVD Movies
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