On C List of Movie Reviews
(For optimum viewing, adjust the zoom level of your browser to 125%.)
Come See the Paradise (1990)
Rate:
5
Viewed:
2/25
2/25:
Alan Parker is such a bad director.
If I saw him for real, I would tell him to go to a film school and learn the art of his craft more.
During the first half of Come See the Paradise, I was thinking of '7', but it kept getting worse and worse
afterwards with moments of Alan Parker going, "Ah, let's speed this fucker up." He's lucky to have Michael
Seresin on board to take care of the cinematography which saved the film from being further wrecked.
It's nice to see a cast filled with real Japanese thespians in a Hollywood picture. That's extremely rare.
But...but...but...why Dennis Quaid? Of course, it's their subtle way of saying that nobody in America wants to
see an all-Asian picture. Hence, a marquee actor is required to sell it.
Mainly, I see problems in the storytelling department.
Alan Parker didn't fully develop what he meant to show. The whole thing is aimless and without power. All characters,
including Jack and his wife, are either barely fleshed out or not given any depth. They just come and go,
events pass, and the end. Wow, what an overlong bore with lots of kissing. As a result, Tamlyn Tomita's potential
of giving an Oscar-nominated performance went down in the drain. By the way, she should be familiar to anyone
who's seen The Karate Kid Part II.
The first hour doesn't work, and there's no reason to learn about Jack's labor union activities. Instead, the
Japanese family's experience of their stay at an internment camp should've been the entire focus. Otherwise,
it's better to go forego this slice of history by making the film a romance between Dennis Quaid and Tamlyn
Tomita. Their chemistry is convincing, and they make a good couple.
All in all, Come See the Paradise deserves a better writer-director.