User reviews

This is one of the most powerful films that I have seen about the Japanese-American experience in the internment camps during WW2.The think that struck me from the very beginning was that these folk were just as American as any of us.They,too,were just trying to live the American Dream,until the policies of the US Government took their dreams away from them.History has a bad habit of repeating itself,and movies like this remind us that regardless of race,creed,or color,we're all just Americans.This was a bad time for US domestic policy,and hopefully a shameful policy like this will never rear its ugly head again in our country.

I wish that this film could have been better--and it could have, in many ways. First of all the acting was quite good, particularly Tamlyn Tomita whose charm and beauty make for radiant scenes. And the sets/cinematography allowed for a good deal of authenticity.

However, the difficulty I have with the film concerns--as other reviewers have noted--a wandering and unfocused script. Although Alan Parker allows for an accurate (for the most part) and revealing look at life in the internment camps, we rarely see anything from Jack's (Dennis Quaid) perspective. What happened to him after he went AWOL? How long were they apart? Also, the difficulties that everyone had with the marriage between Lily and Jack are resolved without any discussion. She simply comes home from Seattle and all is forgiven? The cultural tensions and familial disputes were left behind in favor of a highly politicized second half.

In order to fit in the family conflicts and internment episodes, the romance between Lily and Jack is hastened to the point of non-existence in the second half hour. Therefore the audience had little reason to dread their eventual separation, and rejoice in their ultimate reunion.

Finally, on an historical note, the Supreme Court case Korematsu vs. U.S. (1944) upheld the constitutionality of the internment camps. The movie portrayed a victorious Supreme Court decision that allowed for all internees to return to freedom. However, the US government did not officially recognize the unconstitutionality of Executive Order 9066 until 1988, with a Congressional apology and restitution.

Overall, because of the highly-charged emotional potential of the subject matter, I had expected a film with a little more feeling. And if a director/writer is going to make a political movie to illuminate a dark period of American history, he should at least get his facts straight.

Salome

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.

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.

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 tells a story that often many Americans do not recall. When we think of camps, we usually think about how Americans were heroes who liberated Nazi camps during the second World War. However, this story lets you observe the many aspects of Japanese internment and how many American citizens were imprisoned by the way that they looked rather than for having committed a crime.

I find the first half an hour or so unnecessary. You are introduced to a Japanese family and their business, and Dennis Quaid's character. His character is actually pretty unnecessary in the movie. He does not really contribute anything to the plot besides being married to a japanese girl. Of course, this was rather odd at the time since the Japanese were considered the enemy, but that is pretty much it in my opinion. The movie could have retold the exact same story and saved us about 45 minutes in telling us about Japanese internment without the use of his character. THis is not to say the movie is bad, but it is pretty long for no reason other than to include an american that you are supposed to be inclined into liking.

"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.

While I can't say I whole-heartedly hated this movie, I can't say I loved it either. In some ways, it attempts to make a difficult part of history more palatable for an American audience, and for this, I believe it deserves some commendation. However, to a large extent, the plotline of the film overshadows the historical events that it attempts to incorporate, and possibly even trivializes the hardships endured by people of Japanese descent during the 1930s and 1940s.

The movie itself is centered around a cliché, star-crossed love story, leaving the majority of the historical features of the film as bits and pieces that are seemingly tacked on to give the film its validity. More than half of the film is spent on (albeit, poor) character development and introduction of the main conflict. As a result, the parts of the film that deal with internment and other injustices faced by people of Japanese descent are framed inherently as secondary aspects of the story. Internment and relocation were used as plot devices. Tense racial and/or ethnic conditions within camps and society are played down to make Jack and Lily's love more plausible. In many cases, Nisei and Issei were faced with systemic and often violent anti-Japanese sentiments that posed threats to personal wellbeing. In the camps, conditions were unsanitary and, due to the material losses some people suffered when forced to leave their houses so quickly during the relocation process, many internees were not able to afford appropriate medical care. This aspect is largely glossed over in the movie depiction.

While I can go on about the issues I have with this film, I do believe it does a decent job of highlighting some of the important aspects of this period of history. Through the plot, Parker addresses the paradox of citizenship and loyalty, as well as other injustices and racism faced by the Japanese community during the 1930s and 1940s. Before World War II, people of Japanese descent were prevented from receiving citizenship by US immigration policies, but during internment, these people were also asked to swear loyalty to the United States, effectively challenging their identity as either Japanese or American. Similarly, there is some mention of the racism experienced by Nisei and Issei during this time, but it is often more generalized and even misguidedly incorporated into the screenwriting itself.

Come See the Paradise walks the fine line between being historically valuable, and unfortunately frustrating to watch. What it lacks in historical accuracy, it makes up for in typical, sappy, Hollywood romance. This film could not be confused with a documentary, but for those seeking an interesting movie to watch, this is a decent choice if taken with a grain of salt.

The "Front-Page" review of this film gives the impression that it is not worth seeing "because the plot is wandering" and other unfair accusations. Instead, take a look at Roger Ebert's fine review under the External review portion of IMDb. I first purchased this film back in the days of the Laser Disc, and I know that my "ancient by today's standards" Pioneer player....and perhaps I'm in violation of copyright laws, but I am transferring all my laser discs to DVD, and I cannot possibly think of a finer film to witness the discriminatory laws that existed during the early days of WWII....even if the focus is on an Irish-American played by Dennis Quaid....and you must see the early scene in which he dances/sings to a Japanese song that he has memorized by his position as Projectionist in a Japanese-American theatre in San Francisco. And for those who might enjoy a Jarre/Barry type film score, this one is haunting and lovely. Ignore the reviewer and give this terrific film a chance, and I'll bet you'll love it.

Come See the Paradise is a Hollywood dramatized historical film. It incorporates aspects of historical facts, but alters it greatly in order to make it more relatable to the average American. What does that mean in terms of the film? Well there must be a straight, white male lead because who can relate to Japanese Americans? This creates a noticeable flaw in the film as a whole. Dennis Quaid's character felt unnecessary, stereotypical, largely one-dimensional, and empowered by an overly noticeable sexual energy. Additionally, for a hefty film time of two hours and eighteen minutes, it felt as though only ~thirty of those minutes were spent inside the internment camp itself. It wasted so much time attempting to humanize these characters, and create backgrounds for them that it became confusing as to what type of movie we were watching. Although I appreciate the dedication for attempting to flesh out these characters more, most of this development could have been taken place within a camp setting. I did appreciate the depiction of portraying an interracial couple during a very racist time period. It was interesting to see how the Japanese family reacted to the situation, and seeing the expectation that Japanese women had in terms of their love life. It would be more important and realistic though to portray how society reacted to this couple. In 1940s California, people would not be accepting of a Japanese-American couple. This was a time where Japanese, or even other East Asian immigrants who appeared Japanese, were at times assaulted on the streets. The film touched on this with the racist Santa Claus, but this even had issues with it. Because of the film only depicted the racism through this one scene, it appears as though only a few Santas were racist, when in reality it would have been a majority of Santas! In reality, this couple would struggle to live their lives due to societal racism. They would be unable to eat at restaurants without complaint, see films, raise their daughter, etc. This was not depicted in the film. In fact, the film dedicated more time displaying how the Japanese family disapproved of the couple compared to society, that it made it seem that Japanese were more racist towards Americans, than Americans towards Japanese! This is an inaccurate depiction that severely hurt the films credibility.

Movie about the Japanese internment camps during WWII. It starts in 1936 when angry union organizer Jack (Dennis Quaid) meets beautiful Japanese-American Lily (Tamlyn Tomita) and falls in love. They get married, have a child...and then the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. All Japanese people, Americans or not, lost their homes, their businesses and were shipped out to internment camps to "protect" them. It shows how the camps affect Lilly, her family and Jack.

As far as I know this is the only commercial film to deal with one of the more horrifying chapters in American history. Too bad it just isn't that good. It was made on a big budget with a sweeping music score and good performances by all (Quaid was just fantastic) but the script just wasn't that good. If jumps all over the place and it's hard to get a handle on what's going on. The flashback structure used in the film is confusing and intrusive. It starts off by Lily telling the child about what happened. They show the story, you're getting all caught up in the characters and situations--and then you're back to Lily talking to her kid. It pulls you completely out of the film. Also, all the Japanese characters seem to meekly agree to go to the camps. Wasn't there any anger at all? Any fighting back? I question how truthful that was.

As for the internment camps this is definitely a bleak chapter in history. It wasn't even taught in schools until the 1980s! Doing this film (which came out in 1990) was pretty risky and the studio seemed to get scared. It was barely released and the ads concentrated on the love story NOT the internment one. It played in Boston for only two weeks with next to no advertisements at a tiny little theatre--I managed to catch it before it closed. This film lost a ton of money. Director-writer Alan Parker said the studio agreed with him later on--that they had "f***ed up" (his words not mine) on the release. Still--it just isn't that good. I never once felt emotionally involved with the characters or situations. It gets a 7 as a good attempt at a very difficult subject.

While the things that went on during this time period, anyone who is NOT 85 years of age TAKE A BREATH!!!. Unless YOU lived during that time period you DON'T have an opinion. Did you fight during WW2, did you live during WW2, the US did not know who was a threat and while it was extremely unfortunate that this happened, the first casualty of war is innocence. The arm chair quarter backing is utterly disgusting. Take 9-11, and the subsequent 20 years of war afterwards. Did cooler heads prevail of did NO ONE know who was a threat. I get sick and tired of anyone younger than 85 years of age casting judgement!!! Over the policies of the time. Japan just killed thousand in pearl harbor WHILE negotiating for peace. What did you expect the US would do....just say OH WELL??

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.

During WWII, Japanese Americans are stripped of their property and sent to prison camps in California. Also seemingly taken away is the family life of an American man and his Japanese soulmate.

This is powerful material and COME SEE THE PARADISE does well as a first attempt. Surely, sooner or later more talented directors will revisit this bit of history and hit a home run.

Few movie fans know that STAR TREK's George Takei (Mr. Sulu) lived with his family in these California concentration camps during WWII. Both his father and grandmother died in them.

As ROOTS showed us the reality of slavery in America, as GERONIMO taught us that the taking of the West was an ugly affair devoid of justice, as the DEAR HUNTER told us that the troubles of Vietnam were deeper than reported on the evening news; COME SEE THE PARADISE gives us an imperfect glimps of some of our darkest mistakes of WWII.

Good, but could have been great.

Details one of the shadier acts in US history - the internment of Japanese-Americans in camps during World War 2.

Quite moving. You share in the injustice of the situation.

However, pacing is uneven. Spends much time building up this event (not overly so, though) but then speeds up towards the end, skipping some details and diluting the effect.

A more powerful movie would have concentrated more on the internment camps. A bit too schmaltzy too.

Good performances all round.