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'Paradise Now' Is a Life-and-Death Drama

By Kenneth Turan

Published October 28, 2005 at 12:00 AM EDT

Paradise Now is a powerful and provocative drama about the nightmare of terrorism. It gets its strength from its dispassion. It is uncompromising in its determination to explain, rather than justify, incomprehensible acts.

Palestinian-born director Hany Abu-Assad has the nerve and skill to turn daily headlines about suicide bombers into a heart-stopping story whose urgency is startling.

You may think you'll be seeing Paradise Now for its relevance, but its life-and-death drama is what will keep you transfixed.

Kenneth Turan

Kenneth Turan is the film critic for the Los Angeles Times and NPR's Morning Edition, as well as the director of the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. He has been a staff writer for the Washington Post and TV Guide, and served as the Times' book review editor.

See stories by Kenneth Turan