paradise lost and found

I recently watched two movies that I want to recommend to all the First Born readers out there.


The first is Everything is Illuminated, and it tells the story of a young Jewish-American (played by Elijah Wood) who travels to the Ukraine in search of the woman who saved his grandfather’s life from the Nazis in 1942. There are some bizarre and funny moments, but the focus rests on the lasting impact of the horror of the Holocaust.





The second is Paradise Now, which tells the story of two best friends in Palestine who are chosen to carry out a suicide-mission in Israel. The movie was filmed in the West Bank and is entirely in Arabic (with subtitles). This is not a light-hearted movie at all. This story struggles with the never-ending question of “what could drive someone to be a suicide-bomber?” and the immense chasm between life for Palestinians and life for Israelis.




The strongest features of both of these movies are that they are personal, and they are messy. These are not situated as commentaries or history lessons. Instead they tell the personal stories of the few characters in each movie. And because of this we get to see real people, with real lives, try to be human in inhumane situations. And neither story provides a neat and tidy ending, or answers to the questions they raise.

And most importantly, the movies need to be seen together, because in a very really sense they are connected… two parts in the larger story of the cycle of violence. In Everything is Illuminated we catch a glimpse of the horror done to the Jews, and in Paradise Now we catch a glimpse of the inhumanity of daily life for Palestinians. These stories are so connected because the one directly impacts the other: Because of the inhumanity done to one people group, the reaction to make sure that it never happens again has lead to a different inhumanity for another people group. And the cycle of becoming a monster to defeat a monster continues.

Watch these two movies and ponder: How do we dismantle the machines of violence, as well as pursue and foster confession, forgiveness, reconciliation, and peace… before there is enough material for a third movie? And how does the death and ressurection of a Jew crucified in Palestine still make a way in the desert?

Salaam. Shalom. Peace.