Paradise Now

The film, Paradise Now, gave an entirely new perspective into the elements surrounding suicide bombings, as well as the lives of those who carry out these missions. The film chronicles the lives of two men, Said and Khaled, who are selected to carry out a suicide bombing mission. The two have been friends since childhood, and in turn, as the viewer you gain the sense of a personal element to the film. Each one of us can relate to having a childhood friend and what such a relationship entails, but to view these elements under such unrelatable conditions was extremely disheartening. The film also collaborated aspects of an extremist views and that of a countries political standpoint on certain issues. The view of suicide bombing to many is violent, unrequittable, and senseless in the idea that many innocent lives are taking at the hand of political activism.

After Khaled and Said are requitted for the suicide bombin mission, the travel to Tel Avive where they record a farewell video to their families. After viewing Khaled's message, feelings of hatred, reliance in faith, and glorifying the cause of the Palestinian people against the Israelis. Upon completion, you sense that Khaled is taken back by the things that he has just recited, and stares into the camera with a blank, confused, exhausted stare. On the other hand, you as the viewer gain the sense that from viewing his friends powerful speech, Said is persuaded by his words and is now completely enthralled in the missions cause. Beforehand, I sensed that it was reversed: that Khaled was very involved in the mission, and Said was not.

The morning of the mission as the two men travel with Jamal (a recruited) to the site the are donned in black suits and have altered their appearance by shaving their beards and hair. The two are instructed to act casually, and if questioned, state they are going to a wedding. When they ask Jamal what will happen to them after the bombs are deployed he replies by saying "Angels will come for you". I felt that in the response that Jamal gave, it was as if he was so sure of what was to come, and made me look to him as almost a brainwasher of these men. Of course, it is known that such missions are carried out under religious entrustment, but it was the casual connotation of his comment that made me weary of his character.

When the mission failed to be carried out after Said did not return with the collaborators, it was then that I began to wonder what his true intentions for the mission were. We learn soon after Khaled finds him and Said is what Suha that he is undertaking the mission in an act of revenge for his fathers death. It then comes to light that Said's father, a palestinian was killed by Israeli men. In turn, he is seeking revenge towards people of Israel, innocent or not, to condone his fathers killing.

In the final scene of the movie where Said is sitting on the bus, several important images surround him. For one, you gain the sense that the people on the bus are not of his culture, and to me, resembled American soldiers. Also, the idea that Said stood out against his background, as he was adorned in a suit and sat with a stern, angry, cold look. As the screen fades to white, it is open for interpretation whether or not Said pulled the trigger of the bomb.

Personally, I feel that he did. Once you learn his reasons for anger towards the Israelis, it is as if there is no turning back for him. Even the woman who he has fallen in love with, his childhood friend, and the reassurance of his own mother that his father was a good man was not enough for Said to live with. He saught revenge, whether on innocent people or not, and it is my understanding of the film that that is what he ended his life with.