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© Peter T. Chattaway 2005, subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

Saïd (Kais Nashef) and Khaled (Ali Suliman) are thinking about becoming suicide bombers. These two Palestinians, the central characters of a new thriller called Paradise Now, are headed for trouble. As their story shifts from the West Bank city of Nablus to Tel Aviv, their differing convictions about violence lead to actions that draw viewers to the edges of their seats.

But it's not just suspenseful—it's controversial as well. Should artists be inviting us to sympathize with terrorists? Is that what director Hany Abu-Assad's film is really doing?

So, how does this movie fare as an examination of sin? "[Abu-Assad] … does a good job of building tension and showing some of the complexities within Palestinian culture. He has, as they say, put a human face on the Palestinians. Now let's hope that someone can put a human face on the Israelis, in a movie that the Palestinians might want to see."

J. Robert Parks (Phantom Tollbooth) says, "Paradise Now is more suspenseful than any traditional thriller you'll see all year. There are twists and turns, with periods of waiting punctuated by genuinely exciting chase sequences. The movie doesn't have the huge explosions and fancy special effects of a blockbuster, but it does have something those generic films lack—genuine uncertainty. Because the movie doesn't telegraph the outcome, there are so many points when we're on the edge of our seats."

Mainstream critics find it to be breathtakingly suspenseful and brave.

Andrew Coffin (World) says, "More than religious zeal, even, a sense of indignity and inferiority motivates Mr. Abu-Assad's characters. Paradise Now paints a sad, fascinating portrait of two young men who think that death (their own, and, although this integral element is skirted, of the Israeli civilians they blow up) is better than that indignity."

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Related Elsewhere:

Ticket to Paradise?	Printer view
Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad's new film—fictional, but true to life—follows the journey of two young suicide bombers. What motivates them? Abu-Assad says it may be more than meets the eye.