Paradise Now | Review

Berliner award-winner is effectively thought-provoking without laying the blame.

First date jitters are of a different kind with filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad’s fascinating, extremely comprehensive and emotionally well-designed drama expertly shedding light into an act that defies any sort of logic. More often than not, they are perceived as villains or saviors and hardly seen as sons, bothers and the crappy car-repairmen that they are. While for many westerners Tel Aviv is synonymous with being blown up to pieces, it comes as no surprise that Paradise Now was made by a Palestinian filmmaker and supported by Israeli funding, but what is baffling is how the director chooses to humanizes his subjects and fully address itself as a spokespeice for “no easy solutions”.

Positioned as a film that encompasses the full spectrum of the issue, the story of Said and Khaled is both a typical, and yet, atypical one. While the narrative develops itself as a full day in the life of a pair of auto mechanics turned suicide bombers, from recruitment stages to the strapping of explosives to the body and to an insightful video-store excursion. Is there a land of a thousand virgins awaiting the careless duo or is it a simple trip to the morgue with plenty of relatives in a state of bereft? Peering into the martyrdom so closely allows viewers to better understand the helplessness of the situation, and will showcase the emotional and ideological perception of taking lives and taking one’s own life.

Work shopped as a Sundance screenwriter’s lab project (look for the participation of American actors in the film’s credits), the Abu-Assad, producer Bero Beyer and Pierre Hodgson’s screenplay steers clear of labeling its characters and the repugnant, barbaric act at hand comes with no easy definitions. Viewers won’t be forced feed either, and while no political film can effectively be two-sided, this pro-Palestinian point of view should be mandatory viewing material for people on both sides of the fence. Like how Hitchcock dared place a bomb in a child’s lap, the film does have a torrid pacing and Abu-Assad’s expertly devises a narrative joust with twists and surprises, even including some offbeat humor when you least expect. The thriller element works wonders because of the film’s efficient run time, pacing and sweat-filled high anxiety moments, but the subject matter is an absorbing thanks to simple moments as the smoking of a hookah pipe between friends and the fact that the discussion and debate of the issues evolves without annoying omnipresent silly characterizations.

Visually the film looks great, the conscious strategy for the film’s look with respect of the locations facilitates the shifting point of views. The film’s last collage of lingering shots and a loaded closing moment of a close up on the protagonist’s eyes marinates itself as a symbolic piece without much necessity for spoken dialogue. Much of the 90 minutes delivers itself with a special kind of tension – never rubbing off in the wrong way and it becomes a film that challenges the issues, tackles ignorance and like Benigni – makes fun at humiliation and is able to laugh at itself. Full discussions will certainly prevail for patrons leaving the theatres and fans can only hope that the DVD edition contains a making of documentary. Paradise Now is a rare achievement which will leave an imprint on the lucky few who don’t bring prejudice with their popcorn buckets.

Rating 3.5 stars