Paradise Now

The film Paradise Now was an incredible insight into the lives of those who we so often refer to as “perpetrators of terror.” These people are usually dismissed as heretics and brainwashed idiots, and in the process of judging them we many a time discount their humanity and struggles. This movie was an accurate depiction which showed another side of these people without justifying their actions.

The story follows two friends who have been convinced by a Palestinian rebel group to martyr their lives for the cause. The day they are to carry out their plan, there is a slight hitch and the men get separated. Said, the main protagonist and his friend are made to think about their decision much more carefully.

One thing I loved about the movie were the scenes between Said and his mother. They portrayed him in a wayi may have never thought of, a dedicated son living in a working class neighborhood striving for some respect and yearning to help progress what seemed to be a losing cause. Said’s father was a disgrace, and he seeks to make up for his father’s mistakes by his dedication. He is portrayed as a real person with feelings, and people and things he cared about. We notice he wavers at many points during his journey into the Israeli quarters, especially when he pauses at the door of the bus full of women and children. This emphasizes the fact that he was actually thinking about the would-be victims of his actions. However we realize the repercussions of despair by the end, when he spends the day with explosives strapped to his body and decides to go through with the plan. This part drew my attention to the incredible peace I have due to the grace given me. I could have been in the same position of desperation.

Watching the movie, I did not expect Said to make the choice he finally did, choosing to die at the end, but it was the most true way it could have been shown. The leaders of the rebel group did deceive them with their promises of paradise, even to specifics like the angels coming to carry them there, but at the end, it was his own choice. His friend chose differently and chose life. In the same way we are all given a choice.

I realized watching this movie that it is not for us to judge people and feel superior to them because of our salvation, but we must remember that just like them we were lost before we were found.