Review of Paradise Now (2005) by Margaret P — 17 May 2010

"Paradise Now" is a film that's difficult for me to recommend. There is no denying that it has a strong premise and does feature some intense, emotional sequences. There are examples of solid filmmaking and very well-written dialogue to be found here.

But the movie has too many flaws and falls well short of being a good film. The concept of two Palestinian brothers recruited for a suicide bombing mission then faced with uncertainty and second thoughts is very interesting.

But the movie doesn't capitalize on the story's potential. One of it's problems is that it starts entirely too slow. It begins by trying to develop a sympathetic back story intended to add a real sense of humanity to the characters but it never really works.

It drags along with uninteresting setup scenes and even a pretty "blah" attempt at romance. The movie also is bogged down with political speeches, pro-Palistinian propaganda, and anti-Israel diatribe.

And it's not just a scene here and there. The middle part of the movie seems to try and make a political excuse for the "resistance" and their use of suicide bombings. If you don't buy into these excuses the film is going to grow old fast.

The film does finally pick up steam and ends up with a fairly dramatic ending but by that time I had grown tired of the snail's pace and political preachiness. There was potential for a very powerful and relevant film.

Instead we end up with a movie that is really hard to enjoy due to it's sympathetic approach to a horrific practice.