Bienvenue au paradis

I really loved this movie. It was informational and had a beautiful storyline. I generally don't get my knowledge from movies because they are often very inaccurate but I know this one is based on facts as I have done some research about internment camps for a class paper. I know that the story between Jack and lily is entirely made up, but all the historical events aren't. Also, I feel that movie directors and studios should make more movies with Asian characters and about Asian in America because I find it very interesting. I am not Asian, not one little bit and I am getting tired of seeing always the same kind of people on movie screens. I know that the studios have come a long way but they need to make more movies like this one, and believe that there is an audience (not obviously Asian) interested in seeing them. If you have not seen this movie, get some popcorn, unplug the phone and enjoy.

"Come See The Paradise" is a forgotten gem of a film that takes place during one of the United States' darkest and most shameful times. At the onset of World War II, Japanese-Americans were put into internment camps This injustice lasted for several years. Alan Parker's fictional film takes place before, during and after this time. It tells the story of Jack McGurn (Dennis Quaid), an Irish-American labor organizer who falls in love with Lily Kawamura (Tamlyn Tomita), a young girl who lives with her large family in San Fransisco. Lily's father (Sab Shimono) does not agree with the romance, which forces Jack and Lily to elope in Seattle. Jack gets into some trouble with the law while picketing, and Lily, angry that Jack has not changed his ways since the birth of their daughter, Mini, takes the child back to her family's house. Soon after, Pearl Harbor is bombed, the Kawamuras are shuttled off to various camps (except Mr. Kawamura who is believed to be a traitor), and Jack is forced into the army.

Like many films, "Come See The Paradise" is about the strength of love. The fact that it uses this period as a backdrop sets it apart from the rest. The chemistry between Quaid and Tomita is amazing. Just watch them together when they meet for the first time and they kiss. It's simply stunning. Quaid has rarely been this good, and Tomita is obviously relishing having a lead role. In most of her films she's listed as "(somebody's) wife". Films like this and "The Joy Luck Club" prove that she is one of the most talented and under-used actresses.

Some have complained that this film uses an "American" character to tell the story of a "Japanese" family. As if any non-Japanese audience members would not be able to understand, or relate to, the Japanese family. The Quaid character is called "un-American" because of his labor rights stance. The family is called "un-American" simply because they are of Japanese descent. Even though the children were born in the United States. So what exactly does it mean to be "un-American"?

Side note: this movie has not been released on DVD. I anxiously await that day.

Of all places, I remember seeing this film in an English class in senior year of High School (something to do with civil rights, not really to do with the quality of writing per-say), to give all the sides to the problems of equality in the American experience. Come See the Paradise does chronicle a crucial blunder during the second world war- the kind of lesson to be learned from it that does need to be learned in regards to the present- though I could imagine a better film being made at some point on the subject. This is the big chunk of it, anyway, the one that would get spoken of if passed along to someone as a one-line note. But there's also a romantic plot to it, relating the experience so that it's personal and not just an abstract form of a nightmarish reality.

Dennis Quaid and Tamlyn Tomita play the romantic interest of the picture, Quaid playing a regular Joe who comes to work at a movie theater in Little Tokyo, meets the boss's daughter played by Tomita, and soon they fall for each other quite deeply. But as it's forbidden by the girl's father, they still try and sneak away anyway to have their love. Then come the internment camps, the camps created as a homegrown quasi concentration camp for the Japanese, where in Lily is once again with her family, away from her great love. It isn't exactly the most sunny of entertainments, and Alan Parker's writing is nowhere near the level of finesse and maturity his direction has, but there could be a lot worse as far as bludgeoning-over-the-head movie-making. I can also see, from my recollection, that it is understandably one of the least seen of Parker's films.

It's 1936. Jack McGurn (Dennis Quaid)'s wife had gone back to Ireland after losing their unborn child in an industrial accident. He is an union "sweatshop lawyer" who gets run out of Brooklyn after he disagreed with burning down a theater. He comes to join his brother Gerry in L.A. and eventually gets a job at a Japanese theater in Little Tokyo. He falls in love with the owner's daughter Lily Kawamura (Tamlyn Tomita). Her father forbids her and she runs away to get married in Seattle. It was illegal in California at the time. He gets into trouble trying to organize the cannery plant that he works at despite her objections. She goes back to her parents right when Japanese forces attack Pearl Habor. The police arrests all the first generation men. Jack rejoins his family in L.A. The family is interned and Jack is drafted.

The movie moves deliberately. It takes its time to show the cultural differences and give the romance some space. It's a bit slow but it works as an old fashion romantic film. It doesn't really heighten the drama more than a simple melodrama level. The running time is over two hours long and probably would work better with less. This starts as a fine love story about Jack and Lily but that drama fades into the background in the second half. The camp part of the movie becomes more about telling different aspects of life through the family members.

This movie has faults--don't they all. Have found it very helpful in teaching a variety of concepts to sophomore and junior English students. The scenes showing Lily and her family forced out of their homes by Americans, marching to the train station in total silence except for their haunting, now-forbidden Japanese music are always received with great concentration and silence by my classes--a high tribute to Mr. Parker's ability to let a picture speak for itself. Come to the Paradise offers a refreshingly different viewpoint of a critical point in American history for those of us who prefer a little something to chew on besides popcorn at the movies.