Directed by Hany Abu-Assad

Warner Independent Pictures


4 STARS


After failing his mission, a young suicide bomber winces as the tape that sticks a bomb to his chest is roughly pulled off. “Couldn’t you use something that doesn’t hurt so much?” he asks, before realizing the absurdity of his statement.

This combination of provocation, suspense, and black humor is typical of Hany Abu-Assad’s film “Paradise Now.” The film follows best friends Said (Kais Nashef) and Khaled (Ali Suliman) on the evening before they are to carry out a suicide-bombing mission in Tel Aviv, capturing the interactions they have with oblivious family members and friends.

Said’s relationship with beautiful western-educated Suha (Lubna Azabal) highlights two conflicting Palestinian identities and two different perspectives to living in the occupied territories. The film becomes increasingly suspenseful as Suha slowly realizes Said’s plan and races to stop him.

The acting is accomplished and although the dialogue clearly attempts to cover its political bases, it is not too heavy handed. The writing tempers the severity of the subject matter with an apt sense of humor. Just hours before his scheduled attack, Khaled anxiously asks his leader what will happen after the mission. “Two angels will pick you up,” he is told. He responds uncertainly, “Are you sure?”

Beyond the ideological dialogue, one of the most powerful aspects of the film is the striking depictions of the bleak geography of the West Bank: dusty olive groves; graffiti-streaked concrete walls; bustling markets; and oppressive barbed wire fences. The everyday life of residents of the city of Nablus is punctuated by the humiliation of checkpoints, reverberating calls to prayer, and the occasional sound of a bomb exploding. The film blatantly contrasts this oppressive landscape with the polished city of Tel Aviv, and the juxtaposition intentionally induces empathetic shock.

In the harsh visual description of inequality, Abu-Assad forces the viewer to consider the conditions that push people in the direction of violence. The film doesn’t legitimize violence, nor does it take an overtly political stance in terms of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is aware of the issues but never didactic. Rather, the goal is to challenge our natural impulse to dehumanize suicide bombers as one-dimensionally evil.

This task is accomplished through a lens on the psychological experience of a suicide bomber, highlighting both the doubt and the conviction inherent in such an extreme process. The film is laced with close-ups of Said and Khaled that provoke the audience to contemplate the inner workings of the mind of a terrorist. As Said watches his mother peel apples, his face, one which we are trained to view without sympathy, is a mixture of love and desperation.

Abu-Assad’s portrayal of his characters’ vulnerability counters media depictions of terrorists as cold-blooded extremists. Khaled delivers a speech to his community, pouring out his frustrations and grievances and explaining why he has chosen to become a martyr. His angry words are not recorded, however, because the cameraman was concentrating on his falafel sandwich. The dark irony of his deflated diatribe both amuses and overwhelms the viewer with compassion for him. It somehow feels akin to watching a younger brother flounder in a play while no one pays attention to his efforts.

This film is important for people from all backgrounds to see because it humanizes individuals who are easily stereotyped without being apologetic. As students living in such a protected campus, the film visually takes us out of this sanctuary and temporarily into an utterly desolate landscape. For most of us, our familiarity with terrorists is filtered through newspaper articles that speak in cold numerical terms and calculated martyr videos which circulate on the internet. “Paradise Now” confronts the reality of suicide bombing, which, for many, is in fact very close.