Paradise Now (2005)

Nominated for Best Foreign Language film of 2005, this controversial film about two Palestinian friends who become suicide bombers is a moving work of drama.  Some have complained that director Hany Abu-Assad gets his facts wrong and label this propaganda.  I, on the other hand, see it as a portal into the minds of the Palestinian people; it's their perspective and it's important to understand that.  Humanizing two men willing to kill themselves and others for a cause is a powerful way to try and understand their anger.  That's what this film is about, not about politics or if they're right or wrong.  Ultimately it's a story about two friends who get sucked into an idea that is false and to say this film argues differently is narrow-minded.  Grade: A-