I just finished watching Come See the Paradise (well, I finished it last night) and I found it to be better than I thought it would be. It wasn`t a war film, although it does take place during WWII. As it turns out, the film is a romantic drama about Japanese Americans during World War II. Quaid falls for a Japanese woman and both he and her first must first fight her families traditional values and then the greater American population in order to stay together. They are torn apart by war, by struggles and by opinions but throughout it all they continue to seek each other out.
Quaid, as I mentioned earlier, plays the lead role in this film. Generally I find his acting slightly better than average, but never (minus a role or two) exceptional. Here he is as strong as I have ever seen him. In all honesty, I was rather impressed by his performance. He delivers a solid (if not quite award worthy) performance that holds the viewers attention throughout the over two hour run time. Tamlyn Tomita plays his Japanese love and her performance is even better than Quaid`s.
But the best performance in the film is that of Sab Shimono. Shimono plays Tomita's father and he is just plain fantastic. He exudes emotion and does an impressive job outperforming everyone else in the film. There are other great performances in the film too, but then there are also some performances that are weaker than they should be and could be the weakest performances I have yet to see in an Alan Parker film (which is unusual as he usually pulls out excellent performances from everyone). It's hard to pick out these weaker acting moments but one that comes to mind is two of the three actresses who played Mini (Quaid and Tomita's daughter). It's hard to get a child to act gracefully, but I expected more from Parker after the excellent performances he pulled out of the children in Shoot the Moon and to a lesser extent in Pink Floyd: The Wall.
One performance that switches in the middle, from poor to great is that of Stan Egi, who plays Tomita's brother Charlie. He starts off kinda weak in the acting department but as the film progresses and his character changes he becomes a much better and stronger actor and by the last hour he is unrecognizable as the same guy he was earlier. His transformation is remarkable and commendable.
These poor performances are somewhat the fault of the screenplay. While it tells an original story, it has many moments that are rather hokey, other moments that are generic and many moments of poor dialogue. When I think back on the film, I feel like Egi's performance in the first half of the film is as bad as it is due to the corny and heavy handed dialogue he has to say. Overall, the screenplay tells a great story and keeps the audience engaged but is nowhere near as strong as Parker's past efforts and ends up bringing the film down.
The score, by Randy Edelman, is pretty strong and engaging. I couldn't be positive but I think I've heard the main theme used in many a trailer and/or commercial. The cinematography is pretty good, but doesn't reach the same level of creativity or artistry as Parker's previous films. At times it is striking while other times the scenery is somewhat flat and bland. The costumes, sets and make-up are done well enough to bring the audience into the late 30's/early 40's time period, but like the acting and the cinematography, it just isn't out of this world.
As a serious piece of drama, Come See the Paradise, is lacking in that department. It tackles serious issues and has a serious tone but it never affects the viewer on too deep a level. Subjects are touched upon but never fully explored and other subjects are included for no reason but to add drama. As a romance it works better and keeps the audience rooting for the two lovers, destined to be separated, to stay together. Quaid and Tomita have good chemistry together and make the film more enjoyable than it would otherwise seem.
I do recommend this film to be seen if you haven't seen it before. It is enjoyable and romantic and is a great watch when snuggling on the couch with your partner. It's up there on the bottom of the Alan Parker films, but it's not a bad film overall. It's not a film I would watch over and over (like Fame or Pink Floyd: The Wall) but I am glad I got to see it. In a word: Romantic!!!
Film Rating: 72%
Breakdown (How Come See the Paradise scored 72%):
Production Design: 8 out of 10
Cinematography: 7 out of 10
Re-playability: 6 out of 10
Originality: 7 out of 10
Costumes: 7 out of 10
Directing: 8 out of 10
Editing: 8 out of 10
Acting: 7 out of 10
Music: 8 out of 10
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