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

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.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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.