Paradise Now by Hany Abu Assad - Movie Review Example

Running Head: FILM PARADISE NOW (2005) Film Paradise Now (2005) Name Institution Date Table of Contents Running Head: FILM PARADISE NOW (2005) 1 Film Paradise Now (2005) 1 Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Use of sound and writing 4 Spectacular Violence 7 Conclusion 8 References 9 Introduction Paradise Now (2005) which is directed by the Palestinian-born Dutch known as Hany Abu Assad is set and shot on a location of Nablus in West Bank under the control of Palestinians. It provides the story of the two Palestinian men known as Said (Kais Nashif) and Khaled (Ali Suliman) who since their childhood have been friends and are now recruited as the suicide bombers. Their mission involves undetected movement across the Israeli-Palestinian boarder. During their interception at the border of Israel after their separation from handlers, there appears a young woman who reveals their plans that forces them to reconsider all their actions. However, due to too many pressures, high passions and run out of time, they fail to know which way to go. Said (Kais Nashef) and Khaled (Ali Suliman) both are ordinary Palestinians who are prone to the killing time with the bong on the hillside, are selected for the suicide mission on the retaliation for the crime against own people and are required to quickly come to their understanding with the complete impact of the decision they made sometimes back. They are resolute within their conviction, until a very careful orchestrated plan ends up in awry (Abu-Assad, 2005). Consequently, Said has been forced to make his own way back to the home base within chaos while having the live bomb into his chest. In addition, Paradise Now is very noteworthy since it gives a voice to the Palestinian condemnation of issues associated with violence. As a result of its testament to them humanity as well as its balanced portray of violence as a volatile subject for discussion, Paradise Now film has received high official backing from the government of Israel. The film presents an insightful, thoughtful look and the provocative examination of the terrorism in Palestine-Israel situation. In addition, Paradise Now is a crackling and entertaining dramatic thriller that attracts everyone to see. Said (Nashef) and Khaled (Suliman) are very happy-go-lucky buddies who have occupied the West Bank. They drift from one job to the other without worrying so much. It can be observed that Said is very much interested in Suha (Azabal), a daughter of the famous martyr. Later, a friend (Hlehel) informs them that they have selected for the suicide bomb mission in the Tel Aviv. All of a sudden their lives turn out to be gravely serious as they can be seen grappling with issues, faced with their doubts and embark on the mission which is not remotely considered to go into a plan (Abu-Assad, 2005). Use of sound and writing The film is based in terror, casual encounters within the stores and restaurants that are largely fraught with suspicion, hostility as well as eye contact between the Israelites and Palestinians at the Israel checkpoints which is obviously identified with murderous activities. Within this Palestinian terrorist group, a given glitch in the operation greatly sparks an immediate certainty of the betrayal from just within. At the time Said and Khaled are found separated during the initial phase of their operation, the leaders are seen going into much panic mode and assuming for the worst. Towards the end of the movie, Said hitches a ride, an Israel driver chatters on concerning how some drinking water on this West Bank has been rumored to become contaminated with the chemicals in order to sterilize the male Israelite settlers (Abu-Assad & Beyer, 2005). Based on the explosive political climate within the Middle East, the act of humanizing the suicide bombers in the movie, mostly risks offending certain viewers in a similar way humanizing Hitler is involved in. However, both Said and Khaled seem not to be less than complete human characters, they present their doubts as well as anxieties in carrying out their suicide bomb mission. Although intended for morale, they keep such doubts entirely to themselves. Additionally, their faith within the glorious later on stops clearly and shortly of the stereotypical burning-eyed at fanaticism, for instance, to both Said and Khaled, maintenance of their faith in order to bravely carry out these radical actions, greatly involves habitual bouts of personal prayers. Therefore, it can be summarized that the Paradise Now movie dwells on a minutiae of the preparations of both Said and Khaled. There is a reflection of the videotaping through the militant last statements, with every man holding the machine gun as well as reading from the script (Devji, 2005). The malfunctions of the video camera while Khaled is seen delivering his final words. At the time filming resumes, the entire people around are observed eating, while in middle of Khaled’s speech, he pauses in order to leave the mother for the final shopping tip. Paradise Now focuses very closely on Said, an individual whose birth dates in the refugee camp and his father was once executed an Israelite collaborator at the time Said was 10 years old. Through voicing his anguish passed through, Said speaks repetitively of the shame, humiliation as well as his belief arguing that the Israelis have designated the role of the victim within the eyes of the world, leaving “the death equality” as the only solution to the existing oppression (Abu-Assad & Beyer, 2005). Romantic sparkles fly between Said and Suha, who originates from Paris and grew in Morocco and has lately returned to Nablus. Although, most of the terrorists consider her father as the martyr presumably by the suicide bombing, his daughter abhors the violence. In a certain emotional confrontation with the two men, she expresses her arguments against the suicide bombing. Suha inquires to know what happens to such individuals who are left behind. Her question not only alludes to the anguish of the surviving and loved individuals, but also to political fallout that originates from the suicide bombing. This is a tragic pattern of the revenge begetting that is considered to further oppress the Palestinians. In addition, her humane voice emerges to be the moral as well as emotional grounding lead of the movie. Paradise Now 2005 continues the trend of the narrative films by filmmakers who are struggling to come to their understanding with a world in which terrorism is becoming less and less shocking. Rather than being viewed as very horrific anomaly, the terrorism acts are reaching to a point where they can be considered as the normal part in life. Due to such familiarity, there is an increase in the willingness to explore these issues at hand and the expected end result is more dialogues between the cultures which find difficulties with communication. Furthermore, the Paradise Now serves as a significant contribution to the terrorism dialogue in a precise manner since it is a film that is created by the terrorists themselves who attempts to shed some little light on their aim of involving in such acts (Garcia, 2005). Spectacular Violence The film of Paradise Now clearly represents the counter-narrative to a Western mass media and jihadist cult of the martyrdom. By providing a scene of men prior to emerging as the suicide bombers, the film enables the audiences to witness the relationships of the suicide bombers with their specific families, individual objectives for choosing to involve in such acts and their romantic woes. Rather than engaging in the really suicide spectacle bombing as well as reiterating a visual landscape that portrays the Palestinian Resistance, the director Abu Assad introduces the film viewers to certain prior to their actual entrance into the this particular visual landscape of the martyrdom (Agassi, 2006). A part from dealing with suicide bombing as the well-timed theme, Paradise Now 2005 film examines the one side of the enduring conflicts between Palestinians and the Israelites. It can be clearly noted that the Paradise Now film is much of the documentary and of less fictional art work. The director, who is himself the Palestinian, was born in Israel and his crew involved the Palestinians, Westerners as well as Israelis and during the Paradise Now filming was allegedly threatened by all the sides within the conflict. Therefore, hardly matters in manner and side on which the Abu-Assad’s protagonists are found, the film is clearly shown to be very dangerous due to its objective, the dispassionate attention given to the real practical process through which the volunteers receive their trainings as well as preparation for the destruction action. Conversely, with majority of the terrorism-themed films that are dominated with the stereotypes as well as Clichy scenes that are reflected through suffering, destruction, good and the evil scenarios, Paradise Now 2005 appears to be a neutral and the informational set of work that is focused on giving the audiences a glance of the terrorists’ lives (Devji, 2005). Although it only focuses on some two Palestinians instead of the entire suicide bombing scenario, the movie seems to be reality-TV, tolerable and believable. However, the Paradise fails to engage in the on-screen violence spectacle that commonly embraced by the majority of the Hollywood films that are set in or on the Middle East. The film’s narrative as well as its visual staging, Abu Assad the director of the Paradise Now 2005 movie, subverts the expectations intrinsic within the mediascape that is saturated by the images of real and the fictional violence. He provides an alternative new mode of the representation in accordance to both Chatterjee and the tradition of the Third Cinema. This implies that the viewer is not entertained or simply lulled by the images of the prevailing violence, but also compelled to critically think as well as make possible actions (Agassi, 2006). Conclusion Paradise Now 2005 is very noteworthy since it gives a voice to the Palestinian condemnation of issues associated with violence. It has received high official backing from the government of Israel. The film presents an insightful, thoughtful look and the provocative examination of the terrorism in Palestine-Israel situation. In addition, the Paradise Now is a crackling and entertaining dramatic thriller that attracts everyone to see. The film is based on terror, casual encounters within the stores and restaurants that are largely fraught with suspicion, hostility as well as eye contact between the Israelites and Palestinians at the Israel checkpoints that is obviously reflected with murderous. Paradise Now 2005 maintains the trend of the narrative films by the filmmakers who are struggling to come to their understanding with a world in which terrorism is increasingly becoming less shocking. Furthermore, it is much of the documentary and of less fictional art work. References Abu-Assad, H. (Co-Writer & Director). (2005). Paradise now. [Motion Picture]. Palestine / France / Germany / Netherlands / Israel. Abu-Assad, H. (Producer) & Beyer, B. (Writer). (2005). Paradise Now. France/Germany/Netherlands/Israel: Warner. Independent Pictures. Agassi, T. (2006). Middle East tensions hang over Palestinian nominee for an Oscar. Retrieved December 28, 2010 from, Devji, F. (2005). Landscapes of the Jihad, Militancy, Morality, Modernity. New York: Cornell University Press. Garcia, M. (2005). Visions of Paradise,  Hany Abu Assad Explores the World of Suicide Bombers. Film Journal 1. Retrieved December 28, 2010 from, Read More