Stuart Reigeluth watches a Palestinian film in Spain No other film director has dealt so directly with the topic of Palestinian suicide-bombings as has the Palestinian Hany Abu Assad. And no other contemporary film has looked so closely behind the rationale for such morbid actions as has Al-Janna Al-Aan (Paradise Now, 2005). At the 55th International Berlin Film Festival, the controversial film won the Awards of the Public, of Amnesty International, and of the Best European Film. Paradise Now will win other awards, but Paradise Now is far from being European; it deals exclusively with Palestine. Two childhood friends, Khaled and Said, work as car mechanics in Nablus. Khaled is fired for smashing the front bumper of a car in frustration. That same night, they are called to carry out a suicide "operation", also known as becoming martyrs, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Khaled is resolved to go, whereas Said remains dubious. The first attempt fails and Said is left behind. He carries his body-bombs strapped to him throughout the entire day. Khaled changes his mind and tries to convince Said to abort the second mission. But now Said is determined that death is better than life. During the Arab Film Festival (16-30 June, 2005), the film was shown in Nazareth (the home city of Hany Abu Assad) and Bethlehem. Paradise Now did not make it to Ramallah, Nablus or Gaza City, but was shown on back to back nights at the Palestinian National Theatre in Jerusalem. Perhaps because of the central location within the occupied Palestinian territories, or due to the religious and political weight the city carries, the film had an even more poignant effect on the public. In Jerusalem, Hany Abu Assad answered questions after the first showing. The Palestinians were most preoccupied with why he chose the Moroccan actress Lubna Azabal, for the central female character of Suha, instead of a Palestinian. Her accent is difficult to understand, even for native speakers of Arabic in the Middle East and this takes away from the important scene when she is vehemently explaining to Khaled that there are other ways to resist the Israeli occupation. The other Palestinian worry was that the West would view the Palestinians badly and asked: What kind of image are you showing to the world? Abu Assad explained that Paradise Now is a dramatic depiction of Palestinian reality through cinema. Most Palestinians in the audience were not convinced. Besides the rather bourgeois gathering of Palestinians, there were two Israeli "secret" service men that sat throughout half the film, perhaps supervising the suicide-bombers on the screen. But one Israeli raised his hand at the end and wondered why no one had asked how Israel would receive the film. Abu Assad replied that it would do Israel well to see how the Palestinians think and why they continue to resist. Resistance to colonisation is certainly far from the minds of most European film-goers. In Voyage to the End of the Night, Louis Ferdinand-Céline said the French regularly "prostituted themselves to the consumerism of cinema". Though his political views were abhorrent, he was referring to temporary escape from post-WWII reality in Europe. However, Paradise Now brings the reality of the Palestinian condition right into the minds of the viewers. The film is very much an awareness test. And it is not a relaxing experience on any day of the week. In Madrid, some viewers said immediately that they did not like it. Others said it was good, but that they would not go back to see it. The somber ones came out of the cinema with pensive furrowed expressions. Europeans generally sympathise with the plight of the Palestinians. Most know what the Israelis are doing. But many have become bored with Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and some no longer want to know what is happening. However, the topic of suicide-bombers still elicits strong opinions and entices interest in the morbid motivations for life. In the United States, the film will be a success because it is drama and full of suspense. People do not have to think beyond the plot. The possibility is there to brush the Palestinians off as pathetic and desperate people. The most common, morally correct argument can be used: How can you willingly strap bombs to your body and blow up others as well? The film does not look into the reasons for such actions, but depicts the pains of making such a decision. In the US, some hoped that Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 would help Americans vote against Bush, but when he won a second term they despaired, and some even emigrated. Paradise Now will have neither effect. But just as Fahrenheit 9/11 has amusing musical inclusions of the Beach Boys when the Ben Laden family is taking off from the United States, so Paradise Now also has moments of relief. However, they are hard to catch for foreigners unacquainted with Palestinian humour and supposedly watching a serious film. In subtle mockery, Said asks Abu Salim what will happen after their deaths. The devout Abu Salim answers that angels will carry him off to heaven, and taps his fingers nervously on the dashboard. Said looks out the window at the hills bathed in the sunset. Of course, heaven: what everyone says, what Muslims are supposed to believe, and what too many foreigners believe is the motivation for Palestinian suicide. The film ends with a reversal of the roles. Said goes to die and Khaled goes to live. But both will keep living in some form and both have died in another form. The questions abound: whether death is a remedy to life, whether death can lead to a better life, whether love is worth more than death, and whether death is better than life. Paradise Now gives no answers, but conveys what the Japanese novelist, Yasunari Kawabata, once asserted in Beauty and Sadness: it is not suicide, but no longer wanting to live that really matters.
