Movie of the Day – Paradise Now

So several months back I talked about a movie that touched upon the subject of jihads and suicide bombers.  It was a darkly funny movie, one that in some ways aimed to humanize and also curiously tried to find a way to present such a touchy subject matter without  upsetting a lot of people.  Four Lions was one of the films that is vastly underrated and also unseen by a lot of people.  I talked about the film in how it used the humor to lighten a serious subject matter, almost getting us to realize that we are laughing at the characters in a film that are trying to carry out a bombing.  But with that humor, it also focused on the people in the story, people who are our neighbors, friends, even someone we know off-hand.

While Four Lions took the side approach to telling a story about jihadist and suicide bombers, as bumbling as they may be, a film that came out in 2005 that approached the touchy subject with an artful and often times, far too humanizing eye to the characters and story.  Paradise Now is a Palestinian film about two men who are preparing to launch a suicide attack in Israel.  It’s a polarizing look at the subject of suicide bombers, mainly because we often view the act as a black and white issue, but Paradise Now tells a personal tale of the individual that carries out the act of bombing.  They no longer become just a bomber, but an identifiable person, one who we watch from inception into the cause and his eventual mission.  It’s no longer just an act we read about, but one we watch  and become personal with.

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