Paradise Now

A suspenseful and, at times, even darkly comic film about suicide bombers, the Oscar-nominated, shot-on-location Palestinian Paradise Now serves up a compelling portrait of contemporary Middle Eastern realities. Directed by Hany Abu-Assad, the narrative focuses on Said and Khaled, two young men in the West Bank town of Nablus, who are selected to carry out a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv as reprisal for the killing of two militants. After a final night with their families, the pair are taken to a deserted factory where guerrillas prepare them for the assignment, dressing them in dark suits under which are concealed explosives. But the plan goes awry, and Said finds himself alone trying to evade capture, while Khaled makes it back home, where a militant leader suspects that Said may have betrayed the cause. What follows is a complicated series of chases, tense but also oddly humorous, over the course of which Khaled grows ambivalent about the mission even though it's Said who's struck up a relationship with the daughter of a martyred militant who argues that violence is counterproductive. The story obviously lends itself to strongly dramatic moments, but throughout we're also treated to scenes of bleak, mordant humor (such as comic frustration when a video camera fails as Khaled recites a message of defiance for broadcast after his death). A smart, thought-provoking film that resists the temptation to turn into strident polemic, this is highly recommended. (F. Swietek)