Paradise Now (2005)

One of my all time favorites.

Fantastic!

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

I liked plot of this movie along with the action that was provided with the plot. The Palestinian point of view made this movie seem personable to the culture there. This gave me a different perspective on the Middle East, considering American media always portrays it in such a negative way. The action of this film was very intense, which kept me entertained. I liked Said and Khaled's quick transition from simple workers to suicide bombers. Khaled was very passionate about what he was doing, while Said did not seem to be as interested. When their mission does not work out, Said becomes very uninterested in the bombing. Seeing why these men were doing something that seems so irrational from their point of view really made me see more clearly why they suicide bomb. Bombing seemed like it was one of the only viable options for fighting the Israelis. It does not make sense to me, but it did allow me to cope with what they do and understand why they do it. Overall, this film did a very good job of showing me the Middle East from a different perspective, allowing me to understand what happens there more.

For the most part, this film was interesting to watch. I love the fast paced rhythm of the film. All the action in the film kept me on the edge of my seat, and I could not wait to see what happened next. Although the fighting and battle is not something I particularly like in movies and stories, the plot and symbolism of the film made this essence of the film okay for me to watch. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in war films or the West Bank or the Middle East. I would particularly recommend this to any history classes, for it shares so much information and insight into the lives of the people of the West Bank. I find these types of films very interesting, as well as very important ones to watch to understand a different culture.

If I were to tell you that Hany Abu-Assad's Paradise Now is about two suicide bombers, you'd probably wince a little. However, if I told you that the film was a humanization of two Palestinian men planning to conduct a suicide attack on Israel and that the film paints a respectable portrait of the moral and human complexities involved in such an extreme plan, I'd hope you'd think twice. The film concerns Said and Khaled (Kais Nashef and Ali Suliman), two lifelong friends living in Nablus, working rote jobs as mechanics and passing their time by discussing Israeli-Palestinian conflicts over hookah. The two are recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, and go about their daily lives, maintaining as much normalcy as they can in public until they comfortable hide away in a secret hideout with numerous other Palestinian extremists, carrying out their plans of action. These involve complex, down-to-the-minute plans being orchestrated along with the creation and promotion of videos glorifying and praising Allah in the midst of orchestrating these attacks.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.

This was a title I kept hearing that featured in the book of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, it didn't sound like anything to do with I read about in the plot, but I suppose that is the point, anyway, I was always going to watch it. Basically in Nablus, Palestine, Said (Kais Nashif) and Khaled (Ali Suliman) have been friends since childhood, and the story follows what could be their last days together, as they have been selected to become suicide attackers in Tel Aviv. They have been recruited by an unidentified resistance, and in their time left together they say goodbye to their unknowing families, acting as normal as possible, and filming themselves glorifying Allah and their cause, and to look like Israelis they shave their beards and hair and wear suits, their cover story is that they are going to a wedding. The handlers are the only ones with keys that will remove the explosives attached to each men, the instructions are for them to detonate their bombs at a military checkpoint in Israel, they will leave a gap of fifteen minutes so that police will be killed arriving at the scene. They cross the border, but are soon chased by guards, Khaled reaches the handlers and his device removed, while Said is still on the run, he meanwhile has reached a settlement, he considers exploding the bomb on a bus, but he changes his mind seeing a child on it. He is picked up by a woman he has fallen in love with, Suha (Lubna Azabal), he tells how his father was executed for his actions working with the Israelis, his father weakness being taken advantage of is what he blames them for, he is still wearing the explosive device belt when his friend finds him, visiting his father's grave. They explain that they are not ready to make an attack, Said is still ready to make an attack, but Suha discovers the plan and influences Khaled not to be part of it, he tries to convince his friend not to go ahead with the suicide attack, but he pretends to be influenced, and the final moments are a long shot with them on a bus together with Israeli solders, before cutting to white. Also starring Amer Hlehel as Jamal and Hiam Abbass as Said's Mother. The performances of the two young leads are obviously important, they are convincing as the close friends who are turned into potential suicidal murderers, but obviously their morals come into play, the story of people made to kill people in a cause they hardly comprehend is very interesting, a controversial subject and many tense moments keep you guessing what happens next, I admit bits were slow, but overall it is a watchable political drama. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year, and it won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. Good!