Surviving Paradise

First of all, I would like to say that I myself am Persian, and consider this movie an embarrassment to my culture. Why is that? In short: everything about this movie is as if it was made by a third grader.

perhaps the most annoying aspect of the movie is not the overall lack of cohesiveness or terrible acting. It's not the script which appears to be at the reading level of RL Stein's "Goosebumps" books, and it's not the fact that the plot is less realistic than the supposed Roswell conspiracy. It's not even the blurry discombobulated shots which may very easily have been taken by a kid running with a camcorder in hand. No, the most annoying thing about this movie is the way in which the directors attempt to advertise the Persian culture.

I could barely contain myself from laughing when the boy explains to his sister all about No Rooz, the Persian New Year, as if she had no idea what it was after living in Iran for years. Then we are treated to watching the kids hop over a bonfire (homeless guy's bonfire at that) to demonstrate the chahar shambe suree tradition. The homeless man observes this behavior placidly, after all, it must happen every day, right? Later at the restaurant, the chef holds up a plater of rice to the camera and explains "nice and fluffy, with each grain separate!" I have never since been able to eat Persian rice without laughing.

Look, i've seen tons of movies, and tons of genuinely BAD movies, such as Blair Witch Project and Coneheads. But all those movies appear to deserve an oscar compared to this piece of trash. It is just so bad its not even remotely funny. The movies is appropriately named "surviving paradise" as it is more difficult just surviving the movie!

I really wish i had my eight bucks back. -Rox

It doesn't get worse than this! TRUST ME. I am half Persian and know the culture well, but they seemed to be making jokes about the culture. "The rice is so nice, white, and fluffy" one "actor" says. He says it as though he was advertising Persian rice(which does taste nice), but who is he saying this to? After all, the characters there at the time know about persian rice. Ohh! I get it! You must be telling the 4 year old filming. After all, you are staring at the camera man instead of the person you were supposed to be talking to. The filming is sooo bad that I could swear the kid was about to drop the camera. He probably did, but anyways, the scene I described is one of the better scenes. The "PLOT" is that the mother gets kidnapped because a mafia clan thinks she has a document. The ending is worse. It turns out she had it all along not even knowing it. If there are worse movies out there, I'll be in shock.

I saw "Surviving Paradise" with my twelve year old son, after hearing that the San Francisco Parent Teacher association endorsed it.

I also saw Jan Wahl the reviewer for KRON tv and she really liked it.

I think "Surviving Paradise" was a bit stereotypical, but my son loved it and I thought the kids playing in the movie were fantastic.

Overall, I give it a thumbs up and think that with all the crap our children watch, it is good to see a film with so much humanity in it.

I enjoyed this film thoroughly. It was simple, yet provocative, showing us how we should look at America, as a multicultural country.

My two kids specially liked the film and have been asking about its DVD since.

I think, within the landscape of big budget films that come out of Hollywood, "Surviving Paradise", was definitely a breath of fresh air. I also think the kids were great and Shohreh Aghdashloo was marvelous. I remember telling my wife at the time that after a long long time that she hadn't been present on the Silver Screen, she will be discovered because of this film showing in theaters. And sure enough, she was picked for "House of Sand & Fog", which gave her a nomination for and Oscar. She deserves it.

I truly enjoyed watching this film with my 9 year old daughter. I don't think this is an appropriate film for twenty somethings, but I think it is a heartwarming one, when watched with kids. It was a bit uneven, but it is fine, considering the purpose it serves. Thanks,