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{{Short description|2005 film}}
{{About||the Die Krupps album|Paradise Now (album)|the play by The Living Theatre|Paradise Now (play)}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Paradise Now
| image          = Paradisenowfilm.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Hany Abu-Assad]]
| writer         = Hany Abu-Assad<br />[[Bero Beyer]]<br />Pierre Hodgson
| producer       = Bero Beyer
| starring       = [[Kais Nashef]]<br />[[Ali Suliman]]<br />[[Lubna Azabal]]<br />[[Hiam Abbass]]
| cinematography = Antoine Héberlé
| editing        = [[Sander Vos]]
| music          = Jina Sumedi
| distributor    = [[A-Film Distribution]] (Netherlands)<ref name=lum>{{cite web|title=Film #23881: Paradise Now|work=[[Lumiere (website)|Lumiere]]|access-date=20 April 2021|url=http://lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/film_info/?id=23881}}</ref><br />[[Constantin Film]] (Germany and Austria)<ref name=lum/><br />Haut et Court (France)<ref name=lum/>
| released       = {{Film date|2005|02|14}}
| runtime        = 91 minutes<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 21, 2005|title=''Paradise Now'' (15) |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/paradise-now-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00mdcwnta|access-date=May 30, 2025|website=[[British Board of Film Classification]]}}</ref>
| country        = Netherlands<br />Palestine<br />Germany<br />France
| language       = [[Palestinian Arabic]]<br /> English 
| budget         = $2,000,000
| gross          = $3,579,902<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0445620/?ref_=bo_se_r_1|title=Paradise Now (2005)|website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref>
}}
'''''Paradise Now''''' ({{langx|ar|الجنّة الآن|[[Jannah|al-Janna]] al-Laan}}) is a 2005 [[psychological drama|psychological drama film]] directed by [[Hany Abu-Assad]]. It follows the story of two [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] men preparing for a [[List of Palestinian suicide attacks|suicide attack]] in [[Israel]]. The film won the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film]] and received an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nomination in the same category.

According to Abu-Assad, "The film is an artistic point of view of that political issue. The politicians want to see it as black and white, good and evil, and art wants to see it as a human thing."<ref name="Glaister">Glaister, Dan. [https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,3604,1690640,00.html "It was a joke I was even nominated"], ''The Guardian'', January 20, 2006.</ref>

==Plot==
''Paradise Now'' follows Palestinian childhood friends Said and Khaled who live in [[Nablus]] and have been recruited for [[suicide attack]]s in [[Tel Aviv]]. It focuses on what would be their last days together.

Their handlers from an unidentified militant group tell them the attack will take place the next day. The pair record videos glorifying [[God in Islam|God]] and their cause, and bid their unknowing families and loved ones goodbye, while trying to behave normally to avoid arousing suspicion. The next day, they shave off their hair and beards and don suits in order to look like Israelis. Their cover story is that they are going to a wedding.

An [[explosive belt]] is attached to each man; the handlers are the only ones with the keys needed to remove the belts without detonating them. The men are instructed to detonate the bombs at the same place, a military checkpoint in Israel, with a time interval of 15 minutes so that the second bomb will kill police arriving after the first blast.

They cross the Israeli border but have to flee from guards. Khaled returns to their handlers, who fled by the time Said arrives. The handlers remove Khaled's explosive belt and issue a search for Said. Khaled believes he is the best person to find Said since he knows him well, and he is given until the end of that day to find him.

After Said escapes from the guards, he approaches an [[Israeli settlement]]. At one point, he considers detonating the bomb on a commercial bus, but he decides not to when he sees a child on board. Eventually, Said reveals his reason for taking part in the suicide bombing. While in a car with Suha ([[Lubna Azabal]]), a woman he has fallen in love with, he explains that his father was an ''ameel'' (a "collaborator", or Palestinian working for the Israelis), who was executed for his actions.  He blames the Israelis for taking advantage of his father's weakness.

Khaled eventually finds Said, who is still wearing the belt and about to detonate it while lying on his father's grave. They return to the handlers, and Said convinces them that the attack need not be canceled, because he is ready for it.  They both travel to Tel Aviv. Influenced by Suha, who discovered their plan, Khaled cancels his suicide attack. Khaled tries to convince Said to back off as well. However, Said manages to shake Khaled by pretending to agree.

The film ends with a long shot of Said sitting on a bus carrying Israeli soldiers, slowly zooming in on his eyes before suddenly cutting to white. The screen then fades to black.

==Cast==
*[[Kais Nashef]] as Said
*[[Ali Suliman]] as Khaled
*[[Lubna Azabal]] as Suha
*[[Hiam Abbass]] as Said's mother

==Production==
[[Hany Abu-Assad]] and co-writer [[Bero Beyer]] started working on the script in 1999, but it took them five years to get the story before cameras. The original script was about a man searching for his friend, who is a suicide bomber, but it evolved into a story of two friends, Said and Khaled.

The filmmakers faced great difficulties making the film on location. A [[land mine]] exploded 300 meters away from the set.<ref name="filmjournal.com">{{cite magazine |last=Garcia |first=Maria |date=20 October 2005 |title=Visions of Paradise |url=http://www.filmjournal.com/node/15920 |magazine=Film Journal International |access-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181212022323/http://www.filmjournal.com/node/15920 |archive-date=12 December 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> While filming in [[Nablus]], Israeli helicopter gunships launched a missile attack on a car near the film's set one day, prompting six crew members to leave the production indefinitely.<ref>{{Dead link|date=August 2009}} [http://ae.philly.com/entertainment/ui/philly/movie.html?id=432202&reviewId=19422 ae.philly.com]</ref> ''Paradise Now'''s [[location manager]] was kidnapped by a Palestinian faction during the shooting and was not released until Palestinian president [[Yasser Arafat]]'s office intervened.<ref name="filmjournal.com"/> In an interview with the ''[[The Daily Telegraph|Telegraph]]'', Hany Abu-Assad said, "If I could go back in time, I wouldn't do it again. It's not worth endangering your life for a movie."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3651426/I-risked-my-life-to-make-this-movie.html |title=I risked my life to make this movie |website=The Telegraph |date=2006-07-28 |access-date=2018-07-27 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604004236/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3651426/I-risked-my-life-to-make-this-movie.html |archive-date=2011-06-04 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Statements by the filmmakers==
In [[Hany Abu-Assad]]'s [[Golden Globe]] acceptance speech he made a plea for a Palestinian state, saying he hoped the Golden Globe was “a recognition that the Palestinians deserve their liberty and equality unconditionally."<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Palestinian Film on Suicide Bombers Wins Golden Globe |url=https://www.haaretz.com/1.5323935 |work=Haaretz |agency=Reuters |location=Los Angeles |date=17 January 2006 |access-date=6 March 2019}}</ref>

In an interview with [[Jewish American]] ''[[Tikkun (magazine)|Tikkun]]'' magazine, Hany Abu-Assad was asked, "When you look ahead now, what gives you hope?", "The conscience of the Jewish people," he answered. "The Jews have been the conscience of humanity, always, wherever they go. Not all Jews, but part of them. Ethics. Morality. They invented it! I think Hitler wanted to kill the conscience of the Jews, the conscience of humanity. But this conscience is still alive.… Maybe a bit weak.… But still alive. Thank God."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tikkun.org/article.php/20090327092512386 |title=n Conversation: Paradise Now Director Hany Abu-Assad &#124; Tikkun Magazine |website=Tikkun.org |date=2007-10-11 |access-date=2012-10-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124001658/http://www.tikkun.org/article.php/20090327092512386 |archive-date=2011-11-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In an interview with the [[Tel Aviv]]-based newspaper ''[[Yedioth Ahronoth]]'', Abu-Assad stated he views Palestinian suicide attacks as [[counter-terrorism]], and that had he been raised in the [[Occupied Palestinian territories|Palestinian territories]] instead of in his Arab-Israeli home city of [[Nazareth]], he would have become a suicide bomber himself.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3223216,00.html |title=Oscar nominee: People hate Israelis for a reason |last=Hofstein |first=Avner |website=Ynetnews.com |date=2 March 2006 |access-date=6 March 2019}}</ref>

Israeli-Jewish producer Amir Harel<ref>Gutman, Matthew [https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/movieawards/2006-03-02-paradise-now_x.htm Suicide bomber story contender for foreign Oscar] USA Today. 2 March 2006</ref>  told reporters that "First and foremost the movie is a good work of art", adding that "If the movie raises awareness or presents a different side of reality, this is an important thing."<ref>{{cite news|last=Daraghmeh |first=Ali |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2002759672_paradise25.html |title=Palestinians living in West Bank have dim view of "Paradise Now" |work=The Seattle Times |date=2006-01-25 |access-date=2019-03-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524053025/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2002759672_paradise25.html |archive-date=2011-05-24}}</ref>

==Oscar controversy==

''Paradise Now'' was the first Palestinian film to be nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film]]. An earlier Palestinian film, ''[[Divine Intervention (2002 film)|Divine Intervention]]'' (2002), had controversially failed to gain admission to the competition, allegedly because films nominated for this award must be put forward by the government of their country, and Palestine's status as a [[sovereign state]] is disputed. This is similar to the sovereign state of [[Taiwan]]. Although [[Taiwan]] is a sovereign state, [[China]] often files complaints with organizations that recognize its sovereignty. [[Hong Kong]] is another special case. Despite being a Special Administrative Region of [[China]] it is allowed to make submissions as its own category. [[Puerto Rico]] too, enjoys a similar ability to submit entries even though it does not have full [[United Nations]] representation, which was used as a basis to launch accusations of a [[double standard]].{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

''Paradise Now'' was submitted to the academy and to the Golden Globes as a film from 'Palestine'. It was referred to as such at the Golden Globes. However, [[Israel]]i officials, including [[Consul General]] Ehud Danoch and Consul for Media and Public Affairs Gilad Millo, tried to extract a guarantee from the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] that ''Paradise Now'' would not be presented in the ceremony as representing the state of Palestine, despite the fact it was introduced as such in the Academy Awards' official website.<ref>{{cite web|author=Dünya Namaz Vakitleri |url=http://www.zaman.com/?bl=international&alt=&trh=20060213&hn=29733 |title=zaman.com |website=zaman.com |access-date=2012-10-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716191242/http://www.zaman.com/?bl=international&alt=&trh=20060213&hn=29733 |archive-date=2012-07-16 }}</ref> The Academy Awards began to refer to the film's country instead as "the [[Palestinian Authority]]". This decision angered director-writer Hany Abu-Assad, who said it represented a slap in the face for the Palestinian people and their national identity. The academy subsequently referred to it as a submission from the "[[Palestinian Territories]]".<ref>{{cite news |last=Agassi |first=Tirzah |date=26 February 2006 |title=Middle East tensions hang over Palestinian nominee for an Oscar / 'Paradise Now' traces lives of two men who are suicide bombers |url=https://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/Middle-East-tensions-hang-over-Palestinian-2540418.php |work=SFGate.com  |access-date=6 March 2019}}</ref>

On March 1, 2006, a group representing Israeli victims of suicide bombings asked the Oscar organizers to disqualify the film. These protesters claimed that showing the film was immoral and encouraged killing civilians in terror acts.<ref>{{cite news |last=Toth |first=Sara |title=Some Israelis against 'Paradise Now' |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/gossip/13993796.htm |work=The Mercury News |agency=Associated Press |location=Jerusalem |date=1 March 2006 |access-date=6 March 2019}}</ref>

==Reception==

===Critical response===
''Paradise Now'' has an 89% rating on the review compendium website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 103 reviews, and an average rating of 7.48/10. The site's consensus states: "This film delves deeply into the minds of suicide bombers, and the result is unsettling."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/paradise_now/ |title=Paradise Now |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=2012-10-28}}</ref> [[Metacritic]] assigned the film a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/paradise-now|title=Paradise Now}}</ref>

Stephen Holden, in his October 28, 2005 article in the ''New York Times'', applauded the suspense and plot twists in the film, and the risks involved in humanizing suicide bombers, saying "it is easier to see a suicide bomber as a 21st-century ''[[The Manchurian Candidate|Manchurian Candidate]]'' - a soulless, robotic shell of a person programmed to wreak destruction - than it is to picture a flesh-and-blood human being doing the damage."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/28/movies/28para.html?ex=1175486400&en=12f6093d0860ee9c&ei=5070 |title=Terrorists Facing Their Moment of Truth |website=nytimes.com |date=2005-10-28 |access-date=2012-10-28 |first=Stephen |last=Holden}}</ref> In contrast, in a February 7, 2006 article for ''[[Ynetnews]]'' entitled "Anti-Semitism Now", Irit Linor criticized the movie as a "quality Nazi film".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3212503,00.html |title=Anti-Semitism now |last=Linor |first=Irit |date=7 February 2006 |website=ynetnews.com |access-date=30 November 2016}}</ref>

=== Top ten lists ===
The film appeared on three critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2005.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/awards/2005/toptens.shtml |title=2005 Critics' Picks |website=Metacritic |access-date=17 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060204144141/http://www.metacritic.com/film/awards/2005/toptens.shtml|archive-date=4 February 2006}}</ref>

* 2nd
** [[Kenneth Turan]], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''
* Listed alphabetically
**[[Steven Rea]], ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]''
**[[Carrie Rickey]], ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]''

==Accolades==

===Academy Award===
*On January 31, 2006, the film was nominated in the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]] category.

===Golden Globe===
*''Paradise Now'' won "[[Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]]" for the [[63rd Golden Globe Awards]], the first time a Palestinian film was nominated for such an award.

===Other awards won===
* 2005 [[Berlin International Film Festival]]: 
** Amnesty International Film Prize
** AGICOA 2005 Blue Angel Award
** Reader Jury of the "Berliner Morgenpost"
* 2005 [[European Film Awards]]:
** Best Screenplay
* 2005 [[Independent Spirit Awards]]:
** Best Foreign Film
* [[National Board of Review Awards 2005|2005 National Board of Review Awards]] (USA) : 
**Best Foreign Language Film 
* 2005 [[Netherlands Film Festival]]: 
** Best Feature Film (Beste Lange Speelfilm)
** Best Editing (Beste Montage)
* 2005 [[Durban International Film Festival]] ([[South Africa]])
** Best Director<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cca.ukzn.ac.za/images/diff/diff2005/sheets/awards.htm |title=Durban International Film Festival Awards 2005 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=22 May 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050704075420/http://www.cca.ukzn.ac.za/images/diff/diff2005/sheets/awards.htm |archive-date=4 July 2005 |website=Centre for Creative Arts (South Africa) |access-date=6 March 2019}}</ref>
*  [[2005 Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards]]
** Best Foreign Language Film
* [[Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards 2005|2005 Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards]]
** Best Foreign Film

==See also==
{{Portal|Film}}
* [[List of Palestinian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}
* {{cite web |last=Greer |first=Darroch |date=December 1, 2005 |title=Fade to Black: Hany Abu-Assad, Director |url=http://digitalcontentproducer.com/mil/clips/video_fade_black_45/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202105222/http://digitalcontentproducer.com/mil/clips/video_fade_black_45/ |archive-date=2 December 2008  |website=digitalcontentproducer.com (Creative Planet Network) |access-date=30 November 2016}}

==External links==
* [http://www.warnerbros.com/#/page=movies&pid=f-f1c92073/Paradise_Now&asset=058935/Paradise_Now_-_Bus_Stop&type=video/ Official website]
* {{IMDb title|id=0445620|title=Paradise Now}}
* {{mojo title|paradisenow}}

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{{succession box
| title=[[Golden Calf for Best long feature film]]
| years=2005
| before=''[[Simon (2004 film)|Simon]]''
| after=''[[Zwartboek|Black Book]]''
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Hany Abu-Assad}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for ''Paradise Now''
|list =
{{Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film 1990–2009}}
{{Golden Calf for Best Feature Film}}
{{Independent Spirit Award for Best International Film}}
{{National Board of Review Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
}}
{{Palestinian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:2005 drama films]]
[[Category:2005 films]]
[[Category:2000s Arabic-language films]]
[[Category:2000s psychological drama films]]
[[Category:2000s political drama films]]
[[Category:Best Foreign Language Film Golden Globe winners]]
[[Category:Films directed by Hany Abu-Assad]]
[[Category:Films set in Israel]]
[[Category:Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film winners]]
[[Category:Israeli–Palestinian conflict films]]
[[Category:Palestinian drama films]]
[[Category:A-Film Distribution films]]
[[Category:Warner Independent Pictures films]]
[[Category:Best Feature Film Golden Calf winners]]
[[Category:Suicide attacks]]
[[Category:Films about terrorism]]