Shots of the Occupation in Paridise Now

Thesis: Hany Abu-Assad has experienced the oppression of the Israeli occupation first hand, and in Paradise Now, he uses long shots to show the overall injustice of the situation and close-up shots to show how single people are trapped by unique circumstances.

1) What are Close-Up and Long Shots:

Close-up: “A shot in which the subject is larger than the frame, revealing much detail” (IMDB).

Close-ups were made really famous by Alfred Hitchcock (Rear Window and Psycho). For example, in Rear Window, the main character (Jimmy Stewart) is bedridden and many close-up shots of him are used to show how he is trapped in his apartment room. In Psycho, close-ups are used to create suspense and portray the character’s emotions.

Long Shot: “A camera shot from a great distance, usually showing the characters as very small in comparison to their surroundings” (IMDB).

For example, in The Searchers, long shots are used to show the typical western setting of the film. Long shots typically set the scene and display a theme of the film.

2) Interviews with director Hany Abu-Assad: http://www.movieweb.com/news/paradise-now-director-hany-abu-assad-speaks “you first have to define the place. You give a definition to the place. If you don't do that, you can't go with the correctors.” http://www.adc.org/index.php?id=2637 “Among the obstacles faced during the shooting of the film were the military siege, curfews, bombings, shootings and we survived.”

“we screened it in Palestine many times. As you know the Palestinian society is not a homogenous one, it is a very diverse. But generally, they found it to be a very honest movie. Even if Palestinians live in that context, the film is also an opportunity to raise some important questions.” http://www.pope... ... middle of paper ...

...d to she mission. The only way to escape the bomb is by pulling the string, thus activating the bomb and killing himself.

After the failed mission, Said is sitting in a small bed in a dirty room. The camera slowly zooms in on him until only Said’s face can be seen. In a room that resembles a jail cell, the close-up shows how Said is trapped by what he talks about in the scene (his father and family history and the occupation as a whole).

In the final scene, there are close-ups of most of the major characters in the movie, including Suha, Said's mother, Jamal, Khaled, and Said. Said's is particularly important because it starts far away, showing Israeli citizens on a bus, and then zooms in until his eyes are the only things in the frame. Again, this shows how the characters are trapped by the oppression of the occupation, as Said is trapped by the camera frame.