BERLIN - A portrayal of Palestinian suicide bombers as complex and conflicted people driven to their deadly deed by the Israeli occupation premiered in an unflinching film at the Berlinale .
"Paradise Now," shot almost entirely in the West Bank town of Nablus, follows two longtime friends, Kais Nashef as Said and Ali Suliman as Khaled, as they prepare and set out for their attack in Tel Aviv.
But, gradually, the young men change their minds.
| Kais Nashef, Ali Suliman, and Hany Abu-Assad (aka 3 monkeys) |
Photo: Reuters |
"They are human; whether you like it or not, (So why don't they act like it?) even the suicide bombers are human. They make extreme decisions in an extreme situation," Palestinian-born director Hany Abu-Assad told AFP in an interview.
The Berlin audience warmly applauded the controversial movie (Yeah like they once applauded a guy with a moustache crying out "Deutchland, siege heil!), which is screening at the festival in competition for the Golden and Silver Bear awards. Six days before the honors are scheduled to be handed out, there is no clear favorite.
"This is reality, this is what life is like under occupation. We didn't need to do much acting," Ashraf Barhoum, who portrays Abu-Karem, the mastermind behind the planned attack on Israeli soldiers, said.
The movie includes the filming of the traditional video in which the would-be "martyrs" explain why they are sacrificing themselves (themselves???) in the armed struggle against occupation, and a scene in which the men are wired up as human bombs.
Barhoum said everyone felt the film hit very close to home.
"People were crying when Khaled was reading his last will and testament to the video camera,” he said. That really touches me. Or no it doesn't!
Abu-Assad based his tale on interrogation transcripts of failed suicide bombers, along with friends and families of attackers who died.
The 55th Berlinale, second only to Cannes and equal to Venice on the global film festival circuit, runs through the 20th of February.
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I eventually learned to avoid discussing the Israel-Arab conflict with anti-Israel individuals. But back when I still used to (and it occurs from time to time), I would constantly get comments like "well I'm not saying that suicide bombing is the right thing to do, I'm just saying it's understandable".
In other words, people might say they don't condone them, but in a way they do. With filth like this coming out, where do you expect it will end?
