Paradise Now (2005)

Director:

Hany Abu-Assad

Writers:

Hany Abu-Assad (writer)
Bero Beyer (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

7 September 2005 (Belgium)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

In the next 36 hours, two childhood friends may do the unthinkable.

Plot:

Two childhood friends are recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.

Plot Keywords:

Video Camera | Mother Son Relationship | Videotape | Terrorism | Jewish Arab Conflict

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 13 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Lubna Azabal	...	Suha
Hamza Abu-Aiaash	...	Checkpoint Soldier
Kais Nashif	...	Said
Lotuf Neusser	...	Car Owner
Ali Suliman	...	Khaled
Mohammad Bustami	...	Abu-Salim
Ahmad Fares	...	Tea Boy
Waleed On-Allah	...	Taxidriver Suha
Asaad Dwikat	...	Shawarma Shop Owner
Imad Saber	...	Shawarma Customer
Mohammad Kosa	...	Photographer
Amer Hlehel	...	Jamal
Hiam Abbass	...	Said's Mother
Nour Abd El-Hadi	...	Said's Sister
Amjad Al-Imlah	...	Said's Brother
Dina Titi	...	Khaled's Sister
Yosef Abo Dheir	...	Khaled's Father
Sadi El-Masri	...	Khaled's Attendant
Hana Sha'alan	...	Khaled's Mother
Nabeel Shaheen	...	Video Camera Man
Ayman Swedan	...	Barber
Jamal Shaheen	...	Explosive Maker
Hafez Mueen	...	Explosive Attacher
Jamil Sawalmeh	...	Guard 1
Deya Deen Hamaideh	...	Guard 2
Thabet Abu-Zarour	...	Guard 3
Ashraf Barhom	...	Abu-Karem (as Ashraf Barhoum)
Bassam Al-Nubani	...	Fighter 1
Mohammad Kaskas	...	Fighter 2
Nabeeh Jum'a	...	Fighter 3
Mohammad Arabbas	...	Fighter 4
Saed Mayaleh	...	Fighter 5
Dirar Suleiman	...	Taxidriver Said (as Derar Suliman)
Mohammad Jibreel	...	Van Driver
Wagde Ode	...	Jamal's Assistant
Tha'er Abu-Zarour	...	Shawarma Customer
Olivier Meidinger	...	Abu-Shabaab
Salwa Ibrahim	...	Khaled's Mother
Abd Elrahman Thaher	...	Mechanic
Jamel Daher	...	Car Owner (voice) (as Jamal Daher)

Directed by
Hany Abu-Assad

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Hany Abu-Assad		writer
Bero Beyer		writer
Pierre Hodgson		writer

Produced by
Bero Beyer	....	producer
Muhammed Buqai	....	associate producer
Amir Harel	....	producer
Peter Hermann	....	line producer
Gerhard Meixner	....	producer
Koji Nelissen	....	assistant producer
Hengameh Panahi	....	producer
Roman Paul	....	producer
Jeroen van den Idsert	....	co-producer
Yani	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Jina Sumedi

Cinematography by
Antoine Héberlé

Film Editing by
Sander Vos

Production Design by
Olivier Meidinger

Art Direction by
Bashir Abu Rabi'a

Production Management
Baher Agbariya	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sabina Franke	....	first assistant director
Enas I. Muthaffar	....	second assistant director

Sound Department
Adrian Baumeister	....	dialogue editor
Noemi Hampel	....	sound editor
Uwe Haussig	....	sound
Matthias Lempert	....	sound re-recording mixer
Carsten Richter	....	foley artist
Marcus Sujata	....	adr mixer
Marcus Sujata	....	foley mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Ehab Assal	....	assistant camera
Ehab Assal	....	focus puller
Miki Berdougo	....	electrician
Yana Mitnik	....	electrician
Georg Nonnenmacher	....	gaffer
François Perrault-Alix	....	key grip
Laurie Sparham	....	still photographer

Editorial Department
Michael Reuter	....	post-production coordinator

Other crew
Feras Jabbour	....	production crew
Koji Nelissen	....	production intern

Thanks
Christopher McQuarrie	....	thanks
Ed Solomon	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Augustus Film
• Lama Productions
• Razor Film Produktion GmbH
• Lumen Films
• arte France Cinéma
• Hazazah Film
• Eurimages
• Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen
• Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg
• Nederlands Fonds voor de Film

Distributors

• 1More Film (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (2006) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Constantin Film (2005) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Europa Filmes (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Filmhouse (2006) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Four Films (2006) (Chile) (all media)
• Frenetic Films (2005) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Haut et Court (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• Highlight Film (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Medyavizyon (2005) (Turkey) (all media)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2006) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Warner Bros. (200?) (UK) (theatrical)
• Warner Independent Pictures (WIP) (2005) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)

Other Companies

• Holland Equipment  camera equipment provided by
• Technicolor  prints
• World Cinema Fund  funding

Also Known As:

Paradise Now (France)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material and brief strong language.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Palestine | France | Germany | Netherlands | Israel

Language:

Arabic | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Finland:S | Hungary:16 | Netherlands:MG6 | Australia:M | Singapore:M18 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Ireland:12A | Brazil:14 | Hong Kong:IIA | Sweden:11 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Argentina:13 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | South Korea:12 | Iceland:12 | Portugal:M/12 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Nablus, Palestine

Company:

Augustus Film

Trivia:

The first Palestinian film to be nominated for an Academy Award.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Khaled makes his speech for the second time, two of the people watching him are eating pitta. The man with the purple T-shirt is holding the pitta with his right hand in one shot, with his left in the next.

Quotes:

Suha: One day things will be better.
Taxidriver Suha: Sounds like you're not from here.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards (2006) (TV)

Had me thinking....

I can't add much more that hasn't already been said here previously. I walked into the theater expecting an obvious ending but was somewhat surprised with the slightly interesting twist on one of the characters. It's not hard to imagine that if a commercial Hollywood blockbuster studio had done this film, they would have chosen a less cerebral approach and added a pointless car chase and spectacular special effects with poorly cast big names. Fortunately this independent film chose to focus on the psychological and ideological elements of this complicated predicament that is very much a reality today. Nor was there a pretentious political statement here, just an unbiased view of how these people see things. I found myself sympathizing with the main characters at some point, something I never felt I could ever do. But it certainly had me questioning my own character. If I had been raised under the same circumstances, what would I do? Rarely does a film do this to me.... A very powerful film that Hollywood would never ever make. Highly recommended.