Paradise Now

Last night I went to see the movie Paradise Now. The movie was about two Palestinian men who are chosen for the mission of a suicide bombing in Israel. The movie especially follows Said, one of these two men. Although he is oviously unhappy to be chosen, he does not refuse because he believes it is an honor, and that it would be shamefull of him not to go. His hesitance is obvious by the way he acts around his family and especially around Suha, the girl he likes.

Said is supposed to carry out his mission with his close friend, Khaled. Khaled is more committed to the mission than Said, and is continually trying to assure him that they will be rewarded in the afterlife. The men in charge of the bombing also try to convince Khaled and Said that there will be an eternal reward for them. Said accepts this on the surface but does not seem very convinced of it.

When the time comes for Khaled and Said to carry out their mission, things to not work out according to plan. The men are not able to go through with the bombing, and the get separated from eachother. Khaled returns to the men in charge of the mission, but when he realises Said is not there, he goes in search of him. Durring this time, Said and Khaled are separated from eachother and from the men in charge, they have some time to reflect on what they are really doing and why.

Towards the end of the movie, Khaled finds Said and they go together to carry out their mission. However, by this time they are both having second thoughts. Khaled decides not to go through with it and asks his friend to do the same. Said agrees, but once Khaled is on his way to safety, he goes back and blows up a bus with Israeli soldiers and civilians on it.

By the time that Said got around to carrying out his mission, it was obvious that it had nothing to do anymore with what he believed was right and wrong. He did not complete the bombing because he truly belived it was pleasing to Alah or because he expected some eternal reward. He simply did it because he felt he had no other option. All his earthly life had to offer him was poverty and, of course, shame if he failed to go through with the bombing. He ended up being more enslaved by his own pride than by anything else.

I hope I did a decent job of describing this movie. It was a little difficult for me to understand because it wasn't in English :)