Movie review: Paradise now

Cover of Paradise Now

At the end of 2010 I watched a lot of movies and I would like to share a couple of thoughts about some of them. I like to watch a lot of movies about the Middle East, because I am a strong believer that arts in all their manifestations - visual, written word, music - are the best ambassadors and tools for changing mentalities. But, in the same time, there might be used as an instrument for increasing stereotypes. And I am delighted every time I discover pieces of arts well ahead their times, sharing ironically enough critical perspectives.

Take for example, the movie Paradise Now, about two childhood friends recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.

The film director, Abu-Assad was born in Nazareth, Israel in 1961 and emigrated to the Netherlands in 1980. After having studied technical engineering in Delft, he worked as an airplane engineer in the Netherlands for several years. He entered the world of cinema and television as a producer, creating Ayloul Film Productions in 1990. In 1998 he directed his first film, Het 14de kippetje (The Fourteenth Chick), from a script by writer Arnon Grunberg. Later films are the short Nazareth 2000 (2000) and Rana's Wedding (2002). In 2006 his film Paradise Now won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign language film, and it received an Oscar-nomination in the same category. In 2005 Paradise Now won the Golden Calf for best Dutch film. Abu-Assad is currently filming a movie entitled L.A. Cairo with DViant Films Inc.

The movie was made in “real time conditions” and was worldwide acclaimed (no wonder why).

Despite their doubts and possibilities for having their own new lives, the suicide attack will take place. Even the movie contains some ironies against the masterminds of such attacks - dressed in elegant suits and perfectly hair dressed (the normal question is: why they don't blow themselves up?) - there are a couple of references to a difficult situation faced on the other side of the fence, like the difficulty of going through checking points - but when you know that at any moment some people are ready ("chosen") for going to "Paradise", through the killing of innocent civilians (plenty of video tapes with "martyrs" displayed nonchalantly in shops) what you can do?, or the lack of a cinema in Nablus - the images of supermarkets displayed are of abundance. There are people talking about tyranny, but unable to see where resides the capital of tyranny and disrespect towards human nature, of any race or religion or cultural background.

A coherent discourse, rejecting without mercy this kind of behavior is the key of a veritable change. And the arts could play an important role in this. Trying to use tricky arguments of the kind - because "they", "we" don't have any choice - is the manifestation of the denial of being able to induce change.