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Two childhood friends are recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.

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Awards:
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 13 wins & 16 nominations.
  • See more »
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Complete, Cast awaiting verification

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...
Suha
Hamza Abu-Aiaash ...
Checkpoint Soldier
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Said
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Car Owner (as Lotuf Neusser)
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Khaled
Mohammad Bustami ...
Abu-Salim
Ahmad Fares ...
Tea Boy
Waleed On-Allah ...
Taxidriver Suha
Asaad Dwikat ...
Shawarma Shop Owner
Imad Saber ...
Shawarma Customer
Mohammad Kosa ...
Photographer
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Jamal
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Said's Mother
Nour Abd El-Hadi ...
Said's Sister
Amjad Al-Imlah ...
Said's Brother
Dina Titi ...
Khaled's Sister
Yosef Abo Dheir ...
Khaled's Father
Sadi El-Masri ...
Khaled's Attendant
Hana Sha'alan ...
Khaled's Mother
Nabeel Shaheen ...
Video Camera Man
Ayman Swedan ...
Barber
Jamal Shaheen ...
Explosive Maker
Hafez Mueen ...
Explosive Attacher
Jamil Sawalmeh ...
Guard 1
Deya Deen Hamaideh ...
Guard 2
Thabet Abu-Zarour ...
Guard 3
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Abu-Karem (as Ashraf Barhoum)
Bassam Al-Nubani ...
Fighter 1
Mohammad Kaskas ...
Fighter 2
Nabeeh Jum'a ...
Fighter 3
Mohammad Arabbas ...
Fighter 4
Saed Mayaleh ...
Fighter 5
Dirar Suleiman ...
Taxidriver Said (as Derar Suliman)
Mohammad Jibreel ...
Van Driver
Wagde Ode ...
Jamal's Assistant
Tha'er Abu-Zarour ...
Shawarma Customer
Olivier Meidinger ...
Abu-Shabaab
Salwa Ibrahim ...
Khaled's Mother
Abd Elrahman Thaher ...
Mechanic
Jamel Daher ...
Car Owner (voice) (as Jamal Daher)

Directed by

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Hany Abu-Assad

Written by

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Hany Abu-Assad ... ()
 
Bero Beyer ... ()
 
Pierre Hodgson ... ()

Produced by

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Bero Beyer ... producer
Muhammed Buqai ... associate producer
Rémi Burah ... co-producer
Amir Harel ... producer
Peter Hermann ... line producer
Gerhard Meixner ... producer
Koji Nelissen ... assistant producer
Hengameh Panahi ... producer
Roman Paul ... producer
Jeroen van den Idsert ... co-producer
Rozemarijn Vermeulen ... assistant producer
Yani ... co-producer

Music by

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Jina Sumedi

Cinematography by

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Antoine Héberlé

Editing by

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Sander Vos

Editorial Department

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Michael Reuter ... post-production coordinator
Philip Whitfield ... telecine colorist

Production Design by

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Olivier Meidinger

Art Direction by

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Bashir Abu Rabi'a

Set Decoration by

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Samir Hawa ... (2005)

Costume Design by

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Walid Mawed

Makeup Department

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Friderike Weber ... makeup artist

Production Management

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Baher Agbariya ... production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Sabina Franke ... first assistant director
Enas I. Muthaffar ... second assistant director

Art Department

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Kay Schilling ... property master: indoor

Sound Department

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Adrian Baumeister ... dialogue editor
Kostas Gkikas ... adr mixer
Noemi Hampel ... sound editor
Uwe Haussig ... sound
Matthias Lempert ... re-recording mixer
Carsten Richter ... foley artist
Marcus Sujata ... adr mixer / foley mixer

Camera and Electrical Department

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Roger Altmann ... electrician
Ehab Assal ... assistant camera / focus puller
Miki Berdougo ... electrician
Axel Berger ... gaffer
Yana Mitnick ... electrician (as Yana Mitnik)
Georg Nonnenmacher ... gaffer
François Perrault-Alix ... key grip
Frank Schmidt ... electrician
Laurie Sparham ... still photographer
Jürgen Steil ... key grip
Markus Wichmann ... electrician
Jorge Marroquín Winkelmann ... electrician

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Almut Stier ... assistant costume designer

Additional Crew

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Ossama Bawardi ... production crew
Bob Buchholz ... English language director
Paul Federbush ... Executive
Tony Greenman ... legal services
Feras Jabbour ... production crew
Koji Nelissen ... production intern
Nadia Saah ... publicity and marketing consultant

Thanks

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Christopher McQuarrie ... thanks
Ed Solomon ... thanks
Alesia Weston ... special thanks

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

Palestinians Said and Khaled, now in young adulthood, have been lifelong friends living in Nablus in the West Bank. They have both had what they consider a difficult life, now working side-by-side in unfulfilling jobs as auto mechanics in a small garage, being unfulfilling as difficult as the jobs were to get. Those difficult lives includes feeling like they are prisoners in the West Bank, Said who has only left the region once on a medical issue when he was six. They blame all their problems on the oppression by the Israelis. As such, they have volunteered and have been accepted by a Palestinian resistance group to carry out a suicide bombing mission in Tel Aviv: after the initial response to the first bomb, the second bomb would be detonated at the same site. Following the bombing, the resistance group would release pre-taped video messages of Said and Khaled confessing to the bombing in the name of God. The mission would require Said and Khaled to cross "illegally" into Israel. They are not afraid of death in light of their deaths having some meaning, and in feeling like their lives are like being dead anyway. In the process of carrying out the mission, they end up being separated which could jeopardize not only the mission but their individual lives without their death being in the name of a cause, that is if they cannot locate each other. In this their time apart, Said and Khaled may have time to think about what they are about to do, their thoughts not only shaped by their different family histories, but Said's budding friendship/romance with a young woman named Suha, the daughter of a wealthy and famed Palestinian, she who has only recently moved back to the West Bank after years living overseas. Written by Huggo

Plot Keywords
Taglines In the next 36 hours, two childhood friends may do the unthinkable. See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • Gan eden ahshav (Israel, Hebrew title)
  • Raj sada (Serbia)
  • Ráj hned teď (Czechia)
  • Przystanek Raj (Poland)
  • Paradeisos tora (Greece)
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Runtime
  • 91 min
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Did You Know?

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Trivia The first Palestinian film to be nominated for an Academy Award. See more »
Goofs When Khalid speeds away in the green car the camera man is reflected in the car's windows. See more »
Movie Connections Featured in The 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards 2006 (2006). See more »
Quotes Said: I was born in a refugee camp. I was allowed to leave the west Bank only once. I was 6 at the time and needed surgery. Life here is like life imprisonment. The crimes of the occupation are countless. The worst crime of all is to exploit the people's weaknesses and turn them into collaborators. By doing that, they not only kill the resistance, they also ruin families, ruin their dignity, and ruin an entire people. When my father was executed, I was 10 years old. He was a good person. But he grew weak. For that, I hold the occupation responsible. They must understand that if they recruit collaborators, they must pay the price for it. A life without dignity is worthless. Especially when it reminds you day after day, of humiliation and weakness. And the world watches cowardly, indifferently. If you're all alone, faced with this oppression... you have to find a way to stop the injustice. They must understand that if there's no security for us there'll be none for them either. It's not about power. Their power doesn't help them. I tried to deliver this message to them but I couldn't find another way. Even worse, they've convinced the world and themselves that they are the victims. How can that be? How can the occupier be the victim? If they take on the role of oppressor and victim then I have no other choice but to also be a victim and a murderer as well. I don't know how you'll decide, but I will not return to the refugee camp.
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