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Film review

Indie Flicks: Paradise Now

The story of two suicide bombers isn't a mindless glorification of terrorism but rather a plea to stop the violence.

By STEVE PERSALL
Published December 8, 2005

	[Photo: Warner Independent Pictures]
	A tale of two suicide bombers. Kais Nashef, left, plays one — Said. Haim Abbass , right, is his mother.

Some people will jump to the conclusion that Paradise Now glorifies suicide bombers. After all, it's a movie, and isn't that what movies do?

Not always. Not a film such as Paradise Now, which attempts to temper political passion for a crisis affecting so many nations today.

It won't matter in some camps that the bombers in Hany Abu-Assad's film are Palestinians targeting Israeli soldiers during the occupation period recently ended. Suicide bombers in Iraq are also killing U.S. troops, and many uninformed Americans still brand all Muslims as terrorists. The separation and similarities of the two conflicts will be lost on some people, and that's a mistake.

Even within its political parameters, Paradise Now isn't as sympathetic to the bombers as viewers might expect from a Palestinian filmmaker. Those siding with Israel will correctly note that Jews are spoken about in unflattering terms, yet not allowed to speak. But that's a matter of a protagonist's perspective; Paradise Now is firmly focused on two men gladly accepting an assignment to blow up their enemy. They don't know Israelis, so none can participate in telling their story.

They are Said (Kais Nashef) and Khaled (Ali Suliman), lifelong friends working as auto mechanics when the resistance leader Jamal (Amer Hlehel) calls them to duty. They undergo a ritual cleansing and shaving to blend into Tel Aviv and record martyr videos for release after their deaths. Explosives will be strapped to their chests with a rip-cord trigger. If they show any hesitation, Jamal is there with fiery rhetoric against Jews and assurances of angels escorting them to heaven.

Meanwhile, Abu-Assad and his co-writers fashion another character, Suha (Lubna Azabal), a friend of the bombers who suspects what they are doing. She speaks passionately about the futility and waste of terrorism; the enemy will strike back harder, and innocents will be in the crossfire. She isn't merely providing lip service but bringing Abu-Assad's hope of stopping the violence to the forefront.

Paradise Now is an engrossing political drama evolving into delicious tension when Said and Khaled's mission doesn't work as planned. No details will be revealed, but it's a gripping turn resulting in a chilling fadeout. Even if it were apolitical, Paradise Now would be a satisfying thriller.

The only problems are the limitations Abu-Assad places on his story. Hearing Jewish rebuttal would indeed be fair, and the bombers' families who are kept unaware of the mission are unfulfilled drama simply because of how Paradise Now ends. A few scenes contain unexpected humor, suggesting a filmmaker's impulse for satire he doesn't pursue. You get the feeling this movie may inspire a better one someday.

What we have now is a movie putting faces on terrorism, offering at least one side of a toxic dispute. The United States has a different enemy striking, but paying attention to these two Palestinians, gaining some understanding of their anger and methods, is a small, indirect lesson for our own national security. It's only a movie, but that's what movies can do.

Grade: B+

Director: Hany Abu-Assad

Cast: Kais Nashef, Ali Suliman, Lubna Azabal, Amer Hlehel, Hiam Abbass

Screenplay: Hany Abu-Assad, Bero Beyer, Pierre Hodgson

Rating: PG-13; mature themes, brief profanity

Running time: 90 min.

[Last modified December 7, 2005, 11:01:06]