(الجنة الآن) AL-Janna AL-Aan – Paradise Now

Title: (الجنة الآن) AL-Janna AL-Aan – Paradise Now
Genre: Drama
Rating: 4.5/5
Starring: Kais Nashef, Ali Suliman, Lubna Azabal
Language: Arabic

This is a difficult case for me to review, not only because I am a "Muslim", but also because I am a "Palestinian". I will do my best in this to be clear of personal opinions and sentiments on this matter, and I'll expect anyone interested to be open minded. This is the story of "Said" and "Khaled", two childhood friends living in "Nablus" who are notified that they are chosen to carry out "suicide/martyr attack" in "Tel Aviv". The film depicts what would be their last hours together. One of the things to keep in mind is what "Hany Abu-Assad", the director and co-writer, said:
"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."

On of the most powerful elements of this film is the script. We are cleverly notice the mental state and ideology of these two men. We are given various viewpoints; view adequately describes to us its motives. Through the character of "Suha" we have the view of the arguer and the questioner; she is sufficient for us in bringing other solutions to debate other than the ones planned, like the argument of "suicide bombing" is only a disparate solution and makes the conquered share the same morals with the conquerors. "Said" is the reluctant guy, he questions the motives and whether what they are doing is right and wrong, and what really waits after. "Khaled" is the enthusiast, we see him happily anticipating the event. Although these seem basic, they aren't. The plot takes us through twists and turns, which we start to analyze each of its motives, and let us choose a side. I wish I can analyze more, but if I did I'll ruin a really structured story, that is told with total brilliance and depth. Some might object that the friends are portrayed in a humanizing way, but you know what, they are humans! They weren't born "evil", as some might think before watching the film, but they are humans who made choices in life, these choices were based on certain circumstances. The film, especially at the end, lets us interpret the way we understand. As I said, being open minded is a must. If someone who's non-Arabian for instance decided to watch this film, he should reject the whole stereotype of "Arabs=Terrorists". I am a "Palestinian" and I am a "Muslim", yet I can't deny that I admired "Schindler's List".

"Hany" truly presented this film in an artistic manner, and the three actors I mentioned were nothing short of an emotions-filled package. Even the deepest of haters will feel some sympathy for this brilliant presentation, just like in "Der Untergang". Even with the minimum amount of words spoken, especially in the performance of "Kais", we get a grand sculpture of a man tormented from the inside, unsure of the future. We can observe that "Hany" didn't fully intend for this film to be completely political, but an honest representation of what humans go through very tough ordeals. They weren't represented as mere robots that seek and destroy (This has been done a lot), but as souls. In an hour and a half, we are taken through a sentimental and humane experience, which leads me to rank this film as one of the best well-done films I ever saw.

I have some notes on the production I want to clear up. The film was shot on location in "Nablus", since in many films that that their events took place were shot in places like Syria and Jordan. This was a brave step by the film makers considering the turbulent situations in "Palestine". For instance one time an Israeli helicopter launched an attack on a car near the filming location, a land mine exploded near the filming location, and a the location manager was kidnapped by a Palestinian faction, he was returned by an intervention of "Yasser Arafat". Since I'm sure most of you here don't understand "Arabic", the translations for the subtitles might seem weird because many expressions in "Arabic" seem bizarre when translated. For instance, many people say an expression that when it is translated, it is "you have light on you"(This is usually in common Arabic rather than fluent). This is basically when telling some one he's enlightened. Many cases are similar to this. The recruit of Palestinian actors and actresses made the film really authentic. Many actors/actresses that play Palestinians, many times Syrians or Lebanese are used, always does the accent wrong. It really shows to some one who knows the accent, like my self. If it wasn't for small technicalities that didn't really hurt the plot, I would have given this film "perfect". They are like a fly that annoys us a little, but doesn't really kill us.

I highly recommend this film to any one interested in things outside the box. I've seen many foreign films posted lately, so to those who are willing to go outside the casual, this will suffice them. It is not what many will expect, as just a boring movie trying to glorify two suicide bombers, but something beyond. I rank it as one of the best films in "Arabian Cinema", second only to "The Message". I hope I wasn't too attached, since I tried disconnecting my self the best I can.