The Smell of Paradise

If you can smell paradise then you know that your next life will be a happy one, that you will be granted eternal rest, and that you will be rewarded. Then you can blindfold your eyes so that you are not dazzled by the blinding light of temptations in the world around you, and you can follow a direct path, the path that leads to God. You can fight for truth and defend it against outside attack. This is what the Islamic faith preaches, and the Polish filmmakers Mariusz Pills and Marcin Manon set out to trace it across the world. They have filmed a unique documentary that presents a completely open account of a world that Europe and the United States have unequivocally labeled a world of terrorism and violence. The film presents the biggest figures in the Islamic movement in their home environment and uncovers the motivations behind their struggle and ordeal. The central figures of the film are Zelimakhan Yadarbiev, the former president of Chechnya, and Mullah Omar, the Afghan leader of the Taliban. The documentary offers a different perspective on the political and religious theories of Islam, and shows the war between that world and the great powers from an entirely different angle. It gives voice to the opinions of people who elsewhere have little chance to be heard. The leaders of radical movements confront us with the question of whether democracy means freedom for all or only the dictatorship of the mighty. Why is the world falling apart when God created one nation, one land, and relationships of equality? Why isn't it possible to adhere to one's faith? How is it that one state can attack another? Viewers interested in formulating an independent opinion about the world today greatly value access to the widest variety of information, and this documentary helps create such an opportunity.