You’d want to watch Paradise Now simply because it is an extremely touching and humanistic film that centers on the plight of suicide bombers. Oh, and the fact that the Hany Abu-Assad directed film took home various awards at last year’s Berlin International Film Festival, this year’s Golden Globes, and it was an Oscar nominee to boot. Indeed, the numerous accolades heaped on Paradise Now should not deter audiences from appreciating its intimate and sensitive qualities. While the film’s main theme about the other side of terrorism may be politically motivated, it is its quiet moments that resonate.
Said (Kais Nashef) and Khaled (Ali Suliman) are two best buds in wartorn Palestine. While the overseas-educated Khaleed is more moderate in his worldviews, the angsty Said is more grief stricken and extreme, considering that his late father was executed as an Israeli conspirator when he was just 10. Thus, when they are approached by a friend to be suicide bombers in Tel Aviv, Said and Khaled take up the task to do the deed together.
Things get a bit complicated when their plan goes awry, and the two friends get separated. While Khaled manages to run back to safety, Said is lost and has to find his way back home. In the process, Said begins to question what his real intentions and purposes are, and his meeting with romantic interest Suha (Lubna Azabal) further spurs him to question his original beliefs, to devastating consequence.
This simplistic and well-made film boasts an overall palpable cast. Kais Nashef has enough conviction and strength as the tortured Said, but it is Ali Suliman who steals the show as the understanding and more sensible Khaled. In a very funny sequence where Khaled is videotaping his final statements, some foul-ups and quirky tics turn a potentially moody and serious segment into something inevitably lighter, heartrending and ultimately more human, thanks to Suliman’s spot-on performance. It is in these little details that the movie actually shines beyond its straightforward storyline. Paradise Now may be not be the most original or immediately powerful film we’ve seen, but its humane voice and emotional portrayals make it a compelling watch nonetheless.