Paradise Now directed by Hany Abu-Assad, 2005, color, Arabic with English subtitles, some English, 90 minutes.

By Donald H. Harrison

As polemics go, Paradise Now is fairly objective, providing competing Palestinian  rationales both for terrorism and peaceful resistance to the Israeli occupation.  On the other hand, Israeli points of view are missing completely from this suspenseful tale.  It is taken as a given that Israelis are oppressors, and that Palestinians are victims—an assumption that has prompted people who are either pro-Israel or simply pro-truth to suggest this Golden Globe-winning film should be dismissed as mere propaganda.

The criticism leveled at Israel is no tougher than that which it receives from its own peace movement—and Israel is strong enough to withstand such internal debate. What makes this film interesting and worth seeing is that we finally see a debate on the Palestinian side of the question.  No matter how you dress it up, isn’t suicide bombing just murder?  How can Palestinians attempt to claim the moral high ground when they take innocent lives?

The well-told story written and directed by Hany Abu-Assad follows two friends from Nablus—Said (Kais Nashef) and Khaled (Ali Suliman) as they prepare to sacrifice themselves and murder other people.  We cannot be sure what really motivates Khaled, but we are given to understand that Said seeks to redeem his family’s reputation.  When he was just 10, his father was executed by Palestinian terrorists for “collaborating” with Israel.

There is a scene in a video store, where tapes made by suicide bombers and those made of the executions of collaborators are both for sale.  The vendor tells Said and Suha—the grown up children of a collaborator and a “martyr” (we don’t know how Suha’s father died)—that, if he wished to, he could sell the tapes of the executions for much more, but that would mean changing the computer program in his register.  What an ironic thing for Said to hear as he prepares for his own “martyr mission”—that so far as the man on the Palestinian street goes, his feats never will be as interesting as the execution of his father. As for Suha, she already knows that the fleeting glory that comes with “martyrdom” is small comfort for the family left behind.

We watch with fascination as Said and Khaled prepare for their mission.  One reads a speech explaining why he must sacrifice his life, but the video camera recording it jams.  When at last he is able to read it again, his handlers are casually eating  pita bread while they watch his performance.  Here a man provides his last testament for the “cause,” and his handlers are so inured to the ritual, they can’t even put off snacking.

On the way to Israel, one of the bombers asks his handler what will happen after he blows up himself and those around him.  The handler replies that as a martyr he will be escorted to heaven by an angel.  Is he sure? asks the wavering “martyr.”  Absolutely, the handler replies.  But he can not look his questioner in the eye.

Had the two friends gotten over the border without difficulty, no doubt they would have followed their orders to wreak as much carnage as possible by having two explosions spaced minutes apart. The first explosion would draw rescue workers, who then could be the targets for the second.

But they were spotted as they cut through a border fence and had to flee from an Israeli Army jeep.  Khaled makes it back through the fence into Palestinian territories, but Said is left on the Israeli side.  He gets to a bus stop, and waits there with settlers.  He is about to follow them onto the bus when he sees a little girl aboard—and, perhaps conscious-stricken, perhaps afraid for his life, decides not to go through with his mission.

Eventually, Said returns to the Palestinian side of the fence where he and Khaled are reunited.   There, the cynicism of handler Jamal (Amer Hlehel) is offset by the idealism of Saha (Lubna Azabel), who clearly offers Said the alternative possibility of romance.  She, who believes in peaceful demonstration, is the life force; Jamal the death force. 

Said and Khaled set out for Israel once again—their heads filled with so many conflicting emotions.  Right up to the end, you wonder if they will choose death or life.

I would hate for anyone to base their opinions of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict solely on this Palestinian-slanted film.  But I think it makes an important contribution to the understanding of the conflict, and  therefore ought to be seen and weighed.