Thanks for the memories!

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

A slow but rewarding film about the circumstances of two suicide bombers from the West Bank town of Nablus. The two friends, Said and Khaled, are given a mission that requires them to carry out a bombing in Tel Aviv. The operation does not go smoothly and is postponed, creating the opportunity for their intentions to be questioned, analysed and evaluated. No straightforward explanations or answers are provided.The film obviously highlights the antagonisms between Israel and the Palestinians but it also reveals the debates and divisions amongst Palestinians.

I have given a 10 only to 6 movies in my life. This is one of them.Fist of all, the urgency of the thematic; which is, so I see it, the big schedule of the 21st century; crossing boundaries, understanding that what glues us together is of the same kind than that which tears us apart; tying/ untying; Re- ligion / Dis- legion .I believe it to be a major task of movies today to provide cathartic bridges and alternatives to this question; "Paradise now" nails the problematic on the head. This is just as far as movies were able to go until now; remember Spencer Tracey in the last scene of "Inherit the Wind", holding the bible in one hand, and Darwin's book in the other. In paradise now, a clear question is raised: what is the kind of fight we want for this century?Answers are for everyone of us to provide. Then of course, the way the movie is treated. I am always fascinated at a how a film manages getting you up on your toes for more than an our, without even showing a drop of blood, physical violence or even a minor car crash. In this chez- d'oeuvre, Hany Abu-Assad provided just that.

Incredibly powerful and intricately detailed, highly acclaimed and widely controversial. "Paradise Now," is a compelling, tightly made thriller set in Nablus, on the West Bank, and lays bare the humanity and the horror for all to see. The film provides a gripping and terrifying insight into the mindset of martyrs by turning the camera on two Palestinian suicide bombers during what they assume to be their final 48 hours. The story places two close friends, Said (Kais Nashif) and Khaled (Kais Nashif), recruits by an extremist group to perpetrate a terrorist attack, a suicide mission, in Tel-Aviv. Both men are bathed, shaved, and made to look like Israeli settlers; then they are then strapped with explosives, dressed in dark suits, and are off to carry out their orders. However, things go wrong and both friends must separate at the Palestine border. One of two will maintain in his purpose of carrying out the attack to the very end, and the other will begin to have his doubts. Despite condoning their actions and motives, you can't but help to watch the film with a fearsome fascination. The film sustains a mood of breathless suspense. "Paradise Now" is a thriller whose shrewdly inserted plot twists and emotional wrinkles are calculated to put your heart in your throat and keep it there. The movie humanizes the anonymous faces we often see in the news. The director and co-writer, Hany Abu- Assad, undercut any heroism of these young martyrs by presenting their everyday actions with moments of dark humor. During one taping of a farewell message, the video camera malfunctions half way through, and he must start over from the beginning. During another taping, one of the bombers interrupts his political sermon with a personal shopping reminder for his mother. The ending is gut-wrenching as it yanks the carpet from under your feet. A purposeful statement that strips away any glamour of terrorism, whatever the cause, reason, or rationale they use to justify it. Their inhuman mission aside, "Paradise Now" does compel an appreciation for these unfortunate young men blindly accepting their fate with empty promises. This is the first Palestinian film to be nominated for an Academy Award.

On seeing this film a second time, I found it more powerful and more disturbing. I had read the script, and pictured the two leads played by much younger people, which I imagined would give the film a deep sense of innocent tragedy and loss. So I was disappointed when I first saw the finished project. But as is so often the case, that's not a fair way to judge a film, and with the passage of time, I could appreciate it for the excellent, intelligent, emotionally and morally complex and challenging film it is. Any film that can make suicide bombers 'human', without justifying their actions, or can really make you understand the roots of violence and terrorism without condoning it is an important film for the modern world.