Introduction
Paradise Now, released in 2005, is a critically-acclaimed and multi-awarded film written and directed by Hany Abu-Assad. The film follows two Palestinian men who are preparing for a suicide terror attack in Tel Aviv. While they have planned everything, the entire mission was put in jeopardy when they were intercepted at the Israeli border and had to be separated from their handler. In the process, the plan was discovered by a young woman who talked to them to reconsider their plan. It was a struggle of ideas and thoughts, of opinions and personal beliefs, of evil and humanity.
The film runs ninety minutes - a short one relative to the kind of subject being focused on. With just a short presentation, the film had gained accolades and praises from various award-giving bodies in the film industry. The film won the Blue Angel Award for Best European Film, the Amnesty International Award; it was also selected by the New York Film Festival, the Telluride Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival. According to Gana (2008), what Abu-Assad did was to humanize suicide attack bombers and not just show the atrocity that they made. Through the humanization, the film tries to examine the psyche and the fight of thoughts in the person’s mind.
Body – as a Subject
The primary focus of Paradise Now is the utilization of body in providing cultural meaning and memorable expressions. As a war film, it tries to use the body as an agent of organic life and national symbol of sacrifice and violence. Gana (2008) noted that the Arab world has been mediatized and categorized as a place of death and violence, but films like that of Paradise Now shows a different side of the equation by demonstrating the humanity behind violence and death or the genre of war. Though it follows a different depiction, Paradise Nowcould still be likened to the presentation of loss and national sacrifice in films such as Saving Private Ryan (Spielberg, 1998) and Letters from Iwo Jima (Eastwood, 2006).
It should be noted that the human body is the central of the depiction of war – or even in its reality. This medium can be used either for the purpose of creating peace or for the development of war. Looking at the lenses of both sides, the usage of the body in war or violence can be viewed differently. While suicide bombing can be viewed or is often portrayed as the evil and the bad side of the Arab terrorism by Western films or media, for those who are living the life of a suicide bombing mission, it is an act of sacrifice that does a bigger purpose for others. In a sense, the usage of the body for the reality of violence and death is viewed by people according to the way they think. In this regard, Paradise Now examines the psyche and logical thinking of suicide bombers by portraying their human side.
In fact, Abu-Assad had to be careful in the narratives of terrorism because it will raise ethical and moral questions over the geopolitical grounds and foundations. Gana (2008) discussed the reality of portraying suicide bombing in a human way – it exposes the film to controversy of the morality and ethics of the action. While the film should focus on the portrayal of the humanity behind suicide bombing, it should not cross the line of justifying the act of terrorism, which is generally condone by the world. Abu-Assad was careful in dealing with the subject by embarking to a depiction of reality without putting unwarranted justification that will put the act of using the body for war and killing people as an acceptable one.
According to Strenski (2003), deaths of this manner are motivated by vengeance with the strong desire for revenge. Because of the type of subjects that these films discuss, these are intended only for specific audiences. They try to encapsulate the sociological, military, political, and religious understanding to form the action that is marked with symbolism of martyrdom. Morag (2008) noted that because the body of the bomber is considered a national treasure and the act as a communal one, the act will remain the minds of Palestinians as the idea path to follow. In the film the character, Said, spoke that all they have is their bodies. The statement summarizes the very act behind the idea of sacrifice and the usage of the body for the purpose of achieving the goal of Palestine. Paradise Now examines the very essence of body as the final possession of a person that can be sacrificed or given for a fight or a cause.
Symbolism – Refinement of Representation
The film opens with a scene of a young woman cross Nablus. In a sense, the film shows the entry into the West Bank as the passage into war zone and the conflict. Beinin (2014) noted that the expanse of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were fundamental symbols of the Palestinian struggle, thus fueling the conflict between Palestine and Israel. Opening the film with the shot, it triggers historical memory to the conflict between the Palestinian and Israeli people. Even so, it exposes more than a conflict, but it portrays the attitude of Israel toward those who want to enter the area. The film shows how the checkpoint guard takes control of her possessions through intimidation and domination. The threatening attitude was also reinforced by the automatic rifle in the guard’s arm.
What the opening shot provided is a background of the chaos and tension that will be portrayed and represented throughout the film. Without being biased to the Palestinian side, Abu-Assad tried to portray the tension in the West Bank as the primary location for the collision of power between the two conflicting states. While it should be noted that the leaning toward the Palestinian cause may be high to be able to portray the plight of the Palestinians and to provide a detail analysis of the psyche of the two suicide bombers, the film had maintained its balance and goal of non-violence way of resolving conflicts.
Beinin (2014) noted that the people in the Palestinian area and those in the West Bank are living a relatively peaceful life. The film showed the daily lives of Said and Khaled, the two main characters of the film. They had ordinary lives in the car repair shop, and they work side by side with Israeli people. Paradise Now shows that regular lives of those who become suicide bombers. In this human side, suicide bombers are normal people who live normal lives. However, there is other imagery being used in the film to show the motivation of revenge as noted being the central emotion of the film.
In the film, Said’s father was executed for being accused as a collaborator of the Palestinian rebels. Through this background, Said’s motivation is drawn by historical background. While there is no direct confrontation during the death of Said’s father – or even in Said’s time – the resentment within grows. If we look closely, the situation of Said is a direct micro type of the condition that Palestine suffers from (Burgoyne, 2012). Even so, Abu-Assad tries to make a representation of the country in relation to Said. They were stripped of their sense of living, of their patrimony, as the argument allows. While this does not provide justification of the atrocities and suicide bombings of the Palestinians, this provides a clear understanding of the scenario. Rather than just being focused on a single scenario, Abu-Assad portrayed in the film a clear setting that can be understood by any.
In the film, Khaled delivers an impassioned speech detailing the history of injustices that the Israeli state committed against the Palestinian people. While the speech itself is broken in form, it is able to deliver the message across. True to the tension symbolism, Abu-Assad made use of wielding rifles, fatigue clothes, ammunition belts, and even headbands to portray the seriousness of the cause that they are fighting for. According to Fierke (2009), the ritual of the act includes the symbols of empowerment to make a choice of self-sacrifice. This is true to the central point of using the body for the purpose of fighting for a cause.
Deleuze (1986) noted that in suicide attacks, there is a personal meaning to everything. First, there was the personal meaning to the character of Said. Second, there is a personal meaning to doing the action by sacrificing oneself. Suicide is impossible without the personal motivation of the person doing it. There is a need of creating an imagery of personal meaning as Said is committed to do the act for the sake of revenge for his father’s unjust death. Third, there is the ritual or ceremonial sacrificial act of the person. In fact, the shot in the scene of the ceremonial setting of Khaled and Said is done to depict of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. By doing so, Abu Assad is able to show the real meaning of sacrifice and putting the context in the Western understanding of religion, culture, and national meaning.
Commentary on Cinematic Problems
However, there are important issues to point that make Paradise Now unwilling to accept realism. First, the depiction of the militants moving the city of Nablus like a military detail is a major representation that the city is a perilous war zone (An-Najah National University). While the film showed the normal lives of the character, it tries to justify the action by pointing out the tension in Nablus. It failed to illustrate that Nablus works the same as other cities in the world. It has markets and other enterprises that form the city fare. To note, the story tries to portray the people in the city as cold and with a heart of stone as the result of the tension and chaos they are exposed to. While the film showed the human side of the suicide bombers, it failed to show how emotions can be displayed by the people. To note, even terrorists would cry and would have some reservations prior doing the act.
Cinematically, Abu-Assad failed to get a Palestinian-sounding woman to play the part of Suha, as the daughter of the Palestinian revolutionary. Culturally, it is also a faux pas for Suha to live alone and open her flat at dawn. In the same manner, Suha also kisses one of the bombers before living. Abu-Assad failed to acknowledge that people in Nablus are conservative and living traditional lives. Suha also failed to provide sensible exchange of arguments that could have convinced the bombers.
Conclusion
Paradise Now shows the story of frustration that motivates people. Those who do commit suicide bombing are not just motivated by fervor for a movement. Rather, they are motivated by something personal that causes frustration, which is used by terrorist groups for their purpose. Abu-Assad provides a clear opposition to suicide bombing through several characters in the film. One is Suha, the daughter of the Palestinian revolutionary leader. She argues with Said that human bombing won't be able to bring the necessary reforms and independence over the lands claim that Palestine has been fighting for long.
What Paradise Now successfully did was provide the human nature behind the decisions of suicide bombers. While the West is eager to understand what motivated them, Abu Assad answered them with the film. There are personal feelings attached to the action made by the suicide bomber. In fact, as we see in the film the act of bombing is a progression. They all live an ordinary life, but when their frustrations are being harvested by people, they become empowered to do their revenge. All these human emotions that play in the heart of the person are portrayed and examined in Paradise Now with the aid of symbolisms and representations.
References
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An-Najah National University. (2014). Paradise Now: Popularity does not mean Credibility.
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Gana, N. (2008). Reel Violence: Paradise Now and the Collapse of the Spectacle. Comparative
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Morag, Raya (2008). ‘The living body and the corpse – Israeli documentary cinema and the
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