Movies Like Paradise Now (2005)

Paradise Now is a 2005 crime, drama, thriller, war film from Hany Abu-Assad with a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Waltz with Bashir and Walk on Water.

Crime Drama Thriller War

Waltz with Bashir

2008

An Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.

7.7

MagicScore

Walk on Water

2004

Eyal, an Israeli Mossad agent, is given the mission to track down and kill the very old Alfred Himmelman, an ex-Nazi officer, who might still be alive. Pretending to be a tourist guide, he befriends his grandson Axel, in Israel to visit his sister Pia. The two men set out on a tour of the country, during which Axel challenges Eyal's values.

6.8

MagicScore

Louis Theroux: The Settlers

2025

14 years after his first visit, Louis Theroux meets some of the growing community of religious-nationalist Israelis who have settled in the occupied West Bank.

8.5

MagicScore

Occupation 101: Voices of the Silenced Majority

2006

A thought-provoking documentary on the current and historical causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and U.S. political involvement.

7.5

MagicScore

You Don't Mess with the Zohan

2008

An Israeli counterterrorism soldier with a secretly fabulous ambition to become a Manhattan hairstylist. Zohan's desire runs so deep that he'll do anything -- including faking his own death and going head-to-head with an Arab cab driver -- to make his dreams come true.

5.7

MagicScore

Promises

2001

Documentarians Justine Shapiro and B.Z. Goldberg traveled to Israel to interview Palestinian and Israeli kids ages 11 to 13, assembling their views on living in a society afflicted with violence, separatism and religious and political extremism. This 2002 Oscar nominee for Best Feature Documentary culminates in an astonishing day in which two Israeli children meet Palestinian youngsters at a refugee camp.

7.5

MagicScore

Tough Enough

2006

From the youth directed novel of the same name by Greogor Tressnow comes a film by Detlev Buck that is a realistic portrait of life in the section of Berlin called Neukölln. It’s about power and weakness, delinquents and victims, and the difficulties a 15-year-old faces in a poor and criminal environment.

6.8

MagicScore

Farha

2021

Palestine, 1948. After the withdrawal of the British occupiers, tensions rise between Arabs and Jews. Meanwhile, Farha, the smart daughter of the mayor of a small village, unaware of the coming tragedy, dreams of going to study in the big city.

7.2

MagicScore

My Own Private Idaho

1991

In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henry IV," Mike Waters is a hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike's estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant.

7.1

MagicScore

#10

Beirut

2018

In 1980s Beirut, Mason Skiles is a former U.S. diplomat who is called back into service to save a colleague from the group that is possibly responsible for his own family's death. Meanwhile, a CIA field agent who is working under cover at the American embassy is tasked with keeping Mason alive and ensuring that the mission is a success.

6.3

MagicScore

#11

The Voice of Hind Rajab

2025

January 29, 2024. Red Crescent volunteers receive an emergency call. A five-year old girl is trapped in a car under fire in Gaza, pleading for rescue. While trying to keep her on the line, they do everything they can to get an ambulance to her. Her name was Hind Rajab.

8.1

MagicScore

#12

5 Broken Cameras

2011

Five broken cameras – and each one has a powerful tale to tell. Embedded in the bullet-ridden remains of digital technology is the story of Emad Burnat, a farmer from the Palestinian village of Bil’in, which famously chose nonviolent resistance when the Israeli army encroached upon its land to make room for Jewish colonists. Emad buys his first camera in 2005 to document the birth of his fourth son, Gibreel. Over the course of the film, he becomes the peaceful archivist of an escalating struggle as olive trees are bulldozed, lives are lost, and a wall is built to segregate burgeoning Israeli settlements.

7.5

MagicScore

#13

The Present

2020

On his wedding anniversary, Yusef and his young daughter set out in the West Bank to buy his wife a gift. Between soldiers, segregated roads and checkpoints, how easy would it be to go shopping?

7.3

MagicScore

#14

Inch'Allah

2012

A Canadian doctor finds her sympathies sorely tested while working in the conflict ravaged Palestinian territories.

6.5

MagicScore

#15

The Ambassador

1985

An American ambassador to Israel tries to bring peace to the Middle East conflict through unconventional methods, but his efforts are hampered at every turn and his personal life threatened.

5.0

MagicScore

#16

Exodus

1960

Ari Ben Canaan, a passionate member of the Jewish paramilitary group Haganah, attempts to transport 600 Jewish refugees on a dangerous voyage from Cyprus to Palestine on a ship named the Exodus. He faces obstruction from British forces, who will not grant the ship passage to its destination.

6.7

MagicScore

#17

Cast a Giant Shadow

1966

An American Army officer is recruited by the yet to exist Israel to help them form an army. He is disturbed by this sudden appeal to his Jewish heritage. Each of Israel's Arab neighbors has vowed to invade the poorly prepared country as soon as partition is granted. He is made commander of the Israeli forces just before the war begins.

6.2

MagicScore

#18

The Message

1976

In sixth-century Mecca, Prophet Muhammad receives his first revelation from God as a messenger. Three years later, he's not alone in his quest and publicly declares his prophecy. Muhammad is fought by Abu Sufian and his wife Hind, rulers of Mecca. Muhammad's followers are hunted and tortured but he continues his calling.

8.7

MagicScore

#19

No Other Land

2024

This film made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective shows the destruction of the occupied West Bank's Masafer Yatta by Israeli soldiers and the alliance which develops between the Palestinian activist Basel and Israeli journalist Yuval.

8.0

MagicScore

#20

The Message

1976

7.2

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Paradise Now?

The top films similar to Paradise Now by MovieMagicScore are Waltz with Bashir (7.7), Walk on Water (6.8), Louis Theroux: The Settlers (8.5). Each shares crime/drama/thriller/war themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Paradise Now worth watching?

Paradise Now holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10 from 270 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Paradise Now?

Paradise Now (2005) is a crime, drama, thriller, war film directed by Hany Abu-Assad, starring Qais Nashif, Ali Suliman, Lubna Azabal.

Where can I find more recommendations like Paradise Now?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more crime recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Waltz with Bashir Movies like Walk on Water Movies like Louis Theroux: The Settlers Movies like Occupation 101: Voices of the Silenced Majority Movies like You Don't Mess with the Zohan Movies like Promises

About movies like Paradise Now

This ranked list pairs Paradise Now (2005), a crime and drama and thriller and war film from Hany Abu-Assad, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Qais Nashif take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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