Going into the film I was under the impression that suicide-bombing attacks were often directly a result of religious beliefs. Whilst this was a part of the reason in Paradise Now, the attacks were more clearly a form of retaliation (or, I suppose, revenge). That by no means makes these attacks more justified, but it certainly opened up the oppression that they feel - including the pressure from their own side to make a sacrifice for their cause.
I couldn't say if the two main characters, Said and Khaled, were fairly representative in the film. They were, however, very human characters and very believable, which is an important step in accurately portraying any group. The film did a good job of making their oppression and circumstances become apparent, and you whilst you might not have agreed with the actions eventually taken by Said, you could understand why he thought he had to do it. The film gave a perspective on suicide-bombers which I hadn't seen before. It gave them a conscience, including questioning if their actions were for the greater-good. In that sense, I felt sympathetic for them, which I suppose has changed my opinion somewhat: I now recognise that there are greater motivations for these attacks. Not ones that I agree warrant these extreme responses, but ones I can understand better.
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