去年的那些获奥斯卡提名的电影，从《慕尼黑》到《艺妓回忆录》，都可以用一个字“under-whelming”来形容。上个周末，我却看了一部出人意料的好片子（DVD）—“Paradise Now”，译成中文叫《天堂此时》。

故事讲的是两个West Bank的阿拉伯青年Saïd 和Khaled，从小情同手足，现在又一起在修车场里打发日子。他们的生活贫乏而不安，直到这天Saïd巧遇一位刚从欧洲归来的年轻女郎，才算有了点新意。 当晚Saïd下班回家，突然接到地下组织通知第二天将被派去犹太人区执行人弹任务（suicide bombing)，他的好友Khaled也将和他共同捐躯。于是，一切立刻开时倒数计时 — Saïd 和Khaled这两个年轻人，是怎样度过他们生命中最后的二十四小时？他们有着什么样的挣扎和冲动？他们的信念有没有最后动摇？计划有没有如期执行？…… 我最终没有听到我一直畏惧着的那一声巨响，影片在Saïd晦黯而茫然的双眼中结束。

这部电影没有惊天动地的历史事件，也没有令人眼花缭乱的特技效果，大多数人恐怕连导演的名字都念不出来，但它真实而不做作，一气呵成，将在地球另一端生命抉择的难题摆在我们面前，直接向我们的灵魂提问 — “天堂和地狱，到底有多远？”

SYNOPSIS

"PARADISE NOW" is the story of two young Palestinian men as they embark upon what may be the last 48 hours of their lives. On a typical day in the West Bank city of Nablus, where daily life grinds on amidst crushing poverty and the occasional rocket blast, we meet two childhood best friends, Saïd (Kais Nashef) and Khaled (Ali Suliman), who pass time drinking tea, smoking a hookah, and working dead-end menial jobs as auto mechanics.

Saïd's day takes a turn for the better when a beautiful young woman named Suha (Lubna Azabal) brings her car in for repairs. From their spirited interaction, it is apparent that there is a budding romance growing between them.

Saïd is approached by middle-aged Jamal (Amer Hlehel), a point man for an unnamed Palestinian organization, who informs Saïd that he and Khaled have been chosen to carry out a strike in Tel Aviv. They have been chosen for this mission as a team, because each had expressed a wish that if either is to die a martyr, the other would want to die alongside his best friend.

Saïd and Khaled have been preparing for this moment for most of their lives. They spend a last night at home -- although they must keep their impending mission secret even from their families. During the night Saïd sneaks off to see Suha one last time. Suha's moderate views, having been educated in Europe, and Saïd's burgeoning conflicted conscience cause him to stop short of explaining why he has come to say good-bye.

The following day, Saïd and Khaled are lead to a hole in the fence that surrounds Nablus, where they are to meet a driver who will take them to Tel Aviv. But here the plan goes wrong, and Saïd and Khaled are separated.

"PARADISE NOW" follows two Palestinian childhood friends who have been recruited for a strike on Tel Aviv and focuses on their last days together. When they are intercepted at the Israeli border and separated from their handlers, a young woman who discovers their plan causes them to reconsider their actions.

Winner of multiple prizes at the 2005 Berlin Film Festival, and invited to the 2005 Telluride Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival, the film was written by Hany Abu-Assad ("Ford Transit," "Rana's Wedding") & Bero Beyer and directed by Abu-Assad, and stars Kais Nashef, Ali Suliman, Lubna Azabal.

"PARADISE NOW" is a production of Augustus Film with Lama Films, Razor Film, Lumen Films, Arte France Cinema, Hazazah Film and produced with the support of Nederlands Fonds Voor De Film, Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Eurimages, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, I2I Preparatory Action of the European Community and World Cinema Fund.

http://wip.warnerbros.com/paradisenow/