10/05/06 Paradise Now

Paradise Now (2005), directed by Hany Abu

Assad-watched solo; DVD rental (Netflix) @ home

It has been quite some time since I've caught up on my blog entries, although I must reassure all my avid fans out there (what are there, about 5 of you?) that I have in fact NOT given up on the movie challenge itself, having never missed a beat in the absence of my written reports upon them. In fact, I have put off these important diary entries if you will so long, I've forgotten about some interesting details to this otherwise fascinating flick. Alas, I do remember how I felt about this film overall...and that is curious. I was curious to dive into such a unique contemplation on modern day warfare/terrorist culture in a moving drama that had garnered many a praises and its eventual Oscar nomination (which even more interesting, is Palestine's first Academy Award nomination). The story follows two young Palestinian men, Said and Khaled, who embark on what may be the final 24 hours of their lives, upon the heels of their mission as suicide bombers in Tel Aviv. The two men are life-long friends, and had always made it a pact between themselves that if ever they were to leave the agony of their everyday lives in the West Bank (terrible poverty, constant warfare and terrorist attacks, and sitting around getting high while working at a local mechanic shop), that they would both do it together. That life is brought abruptly to an end when the two young men are appointed to carry out a deadly suicide mission for a guerilla group. The two men must keep secret the act they are about to carry out the next day, even to their families and loved ones. The film is a harrowing portrayal of what the other side of what this Westernized world believes about terrorism and certain cultures. While basically a fictionalized story, the events are so close to the reality of what happens all the time over in that region of the world...and told in such a way that at least humanizes the people who are involved and affected daily by these horrors. Even in the two men's different approaches to the job at hand, you can see where inner conflicts arise about morality, justice, family, governments, conscience, and doubt. I didn't really know how to take what I was seeing, but I realize the significance of the film itself. It's such a huge concept to get your head around, so perhaps (and this will come across as a bit of an excuse) this is why it has taken me so long to come up with some kind of witty narrative on it.

3 out of 5 stars