Paradise Now is a 2005 film from Palestine directed by Hany Abu-Assad.
Said and Khaled are young men who live in Nablus, in the West Bank. They work at an auto repair shop. Said has gotten the attention of an attractive young woman, Suha.
They are also members of a Palestinian militant group. One day, their handler, a teacher named Jamal, tells them they have a mission. Their group has decided to take revenge for the killing of one of their own by the Israelis. If Said and Khaled are willing, they will become suicide bombers: one will detonate a bomb, and the other, after waiting 15 minutes or so for police and first responders to arrive, will detonate the second bomb. And their mission is to be the very next day.
Both Said and Khaled accept the mission. They film farewell videos and get haircuts and suits to look more like Israelis, and then they are fitted out with bombs. The two young men sneak through a fence, where a car is waiting to pick them up—and at that exact moment an Israeli patrol car comes by. Said and Khaled have to run for it, and then they have to figure out if they will continue with their mission.
Hiam Abbass plays Said's mother.
Tropes:
- As You Know: Khaled feels compelled to tell Said that Suha is "Abu Azzam's daughter." Later exposition will reveal that Abu Azzam is a martyr of the Palestinian resistance.
- Cannon Fodder: Jamal and his superiors in the resistance cell are certainly willing to send Said and Khaled off to their deaths, but seem reluctant to put their own lives on the line. Said's status as cannon fodder is underlined when he's giving a martyrdom speech in front of a video camera, only to see his superiors munching on snacks.
- Crapsack World: The West Bank under Israeli occupation. Said compares Nablus to a gigantic prison, and later says that he's only left the West Bank once in his life.Khaled: Under the occupation, you're already dead.
- Driver Faces Passenger: Suha and Khaled are driving down a road while she is yelling at him that the whole notion of martyrdom is stupid. They are arguing when he drifts from his lane and nearly hits an oncoming truck. As he wrenches the car back over, she says "Be careful or we'll become traffic martyrs!"
- Extremely Short Timespan: 48 hours or so, from Said and Khaled first being told of their mission, to the failed attempt at a bombing the next day, to the second attempt the day after that.
- Fade to White: The film flashes to white at the end, symbolizing the moment in which Said detonates his bomb, killing himself and a whole bus full of Israelis.
- Important Haircut: Khaled and Said get shaves and crew cuts to better look like Israelis. It's part of the mission, but it also plays as a sort of preparation ritual.
- La Résistance: Discussed Trope. Said believes that if the Palestinians do not have peace, then the Israelis cannot have peace. Suha for her own part strongly disapproves of violent resistance, believing that it only gives the Israelis an excuse to oppress the Palestinians.
- "Last Supper" Steal: After Said and Khaled have been prepped for their suicide mission, they sit down to dinner with their handlers. They're at a long table, The Last Supper style, with Said and Khaled, the two who are to be sacrificed, in the middle.
- Martyrdom Culture: It plays a major role in the willingness of people to become suicide bombers. Said and Khaled, devout Muslims, sincerely believe that after they blow themselves up and kill a bunch of people, they'll be welcomed into Paradise. Their handlers at least profess to believe that, although it's hinted that they're more cynical. Suha for her part openly scoffs at the idea of "paradise", much to the devout Khaled's horror.
- My Life Flashed Before My Eyes: Discussed Trope. As Said and Khaled ready themselves, Khaled wonders if his life will play before his eyes like a movie when he's detonating his bomb.
- The Oner: Said explains his motivations for going through with the bombing, saying that his father was a collaborator who worked with the Israelis, and that he blames not his father for being weak but the Israelis for exploiting his weakness. He says that there's no hope and no future in Nablus and that if the Israelis won't allow peace for the Palestinians then the Israelis won't have peace either. This scene runs 3 1/2 minutes without a cut, as the camera slowly zooms in on Said during his monologue.
- Scenery Censor: Khaled is being bathed in a ritualistic manner the night before his suicide mission. A person is standing in the right place to block the camera's view of his private area.
- Silent Credits: After the Downer Ending where Said goes through with his suicide mission, the credits play in complete silence.
- Tell Me About My Father: Said says a line that is rendered in the subtitles as "Tell me about my father," word for word. He is asking his mother about his father, killed when he was a boy. It turns out that his father was a "collaborator" who worked for the Israelis and as a consequence was executed by the Palestinians.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Suha gives Khaled a tongue-lashing, going on a rant where she says that people like him that are using violence against the Israelis are not helping the Palestinian cause at all. All they do is leave the survivors behind, to suffer, while giving the Israelis an excuse to continue their oppression of the Palestinian people.Suha: Don't you see that what you're doing is destroying us?
