Paradise Lost

Arab Israeli filmmaker Ebtisam Mara'ana's valiant attempt to assert independence in a socially repressive society, Paradise Lost documents the little-known story of the Palestinian citizens of Israel, a national minority in a state where 82% of the population is Jewish. At the heart of the film is Mara'ana's village of Paradise, a small Arab fishing enclave culturally and politically isolated by the Jewish settlements that sprang up following the Israeli 1948 War for Independence. Paradise has the distinction of being the only local village spared displacement and razing by the Israelis, presumably due to the villagers' traditional working relationship with their Israeli neighbors, but interviews with many residents reveal that this uncomfortable history has taken an emotional toll, producing a generation of young men and women (including the filmmaker) who are resentful of the legacy of repression, submission, and fear. These varying elements are fused together in Mara'ana's specific quest to uncover the story of the village bad girl (her childhood hero), Suaad, a woman whose outspoken support of Palestinian liberation in the 1970s labeled her a “threat to national security” and resulted in her exile from Paradise. Attempts to discuss Suaad with the unemployed men who frequent the cafes in town, old friends, and Mara'ana's own careworn father (who fervently wishes she would avoid digging too deeply into village history) leave the filmmaker frustrated, and she eventually travels to London to meet the intelligent and passionate Suaad, now a wife and mother with a Ph.D in International Law. An absorbing and emotionally resonant journey that crosses far more than simple geographical boundaries--touching on historical, cultural, sexual, and political topics--this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (A. Cantú)