Come See the Paradise (23-Dec-1990)
Director: Alan Parker Writer: Alan Parker Original Music by: Randy Edelman Producer: Robert F. Colesberry Keywords: Drama, WWII, Prison An Army draftee's Japanese-American wife and daughter are sent to live in an internment camp during World War II.
ABSTRACT New York City-based projectionist Jack McGurn leaves town when a violent campaign against non-union theaters destroys one such theater; arriving in Los Angeles, he becomes a projectionist at a theater owned by Japanese-Americans and falls in love with the boss's daughter, Lily. Jack's romance with Lily blossoms into a child-producing marriage; World War II forces Jack to head overseas to serve in the Army, while anti-Japanese paranoia sweeps Lily and her daughter into an internment camp. Named by a 2014 UCLA study as the most Oscar-targeted film released since 1985, Come See the Paradise failed to earn a single Academy Award nomination.
CAST Dennis Quaid | ... Jack McGurn | Tamlyn Tomita | ... Lily Kawamura | | Sab Shimono | ... Hiroshi Kawamura | Shizuko Hoshi | ... Mrs. Kawamura | | Stan Egi | ... Charlie Kawamura | Ronald Yamamoto | ... Harry Kawamura | Akemi Nishino | ... Dulcie Kawamura | Naomi Nakano | ... Joyce Kawamura | Brady Tsurutani | ... Frankie Kawamura | Pruitt Taylor Vince | ... Augie Farrell | Colm Meaney | ... Gerry McGurn | Becky Ann Baker | ... Marge McGurn | | Elizabeth Gilliam | ... Young Mini | Shyree Mezick | ... Middle Mini | Caroline Junko King | ... Older Mini | John Finnegan | ... Brennan | Takumaro Ikeguchi | ... Mr. Fujioka | Danny Kamekona | ... Mr. Nishikawa | Yoshimi Imai | ... Mr. Yamanaka | Lenny Imamura | ... Japanese Actor | Goh Misawa | ... Acting Troupe Manager | Sanae Hosaka | ... Social Club Singer | Shuko Akune | ... Reiko Sakoda | Keenan Shimizu | ... Master of Ceremonies | Dale Ishimoto | ... Mr. Ogata | Shinko Isobe | ... Mrs. Ogata | Mariko Fujinaka | ... Fumiko | Fred Irinaga | ... Mr. Matsui | Tad Horino | ... Mr. Noji | George P. Wilbur | ... Theatre Man #1 | Allan Graf | ... Theatre Man #2 | Frank Trocha | ... McGurn Child #1 | Tricia L. Campbell | ... McGurn Child #2 | Kelsy White | ... McGurn Child #3 | Cynthia Aso | ... Japanese Girl #1 | Emi Endo | ... Japanese Girl #2 | Marian Mukogawa | ... Fujioko's Mother | Fran Lucci | ... Dance Hall Singer | John Jensen | ... Dance Hall Band | John Mazzocco | ... Dance Hall Band | Joe Heinemann | ... Dance Hall Band | Michael York | ... Dance Hall Band | Mark Earley | ... Wedding Singer | Paul DiCocco, Jr. | ... Eddie | Joe Lisi | ... Detective | David MacIntyre | ... Santa | Doug MacHugh | ... Store Manager | Howard French | ... Draft Clerk | Gigi Toya | ... Kindergarten Teacher | Don Alder | ... Race Track Soldier | Teri Eiko Koide | ... Camp Singer | Jumi Emizawa | ... Camp Singer | Cynthia Lauren | ... Camp Singer | Ian Woolf | ... Basic Training Sergeant | Ben Slack | ... Farmer | Bill M. Ryusaki | ... Issei Gentleman | Ken Katsumoto | ... Kenji | Kim Robillard | ... Road Block Soldier | George Buck | ... Administrator #1 | Kevin McDermott | ... Administrator #2 | Harunobu Yoshida | ... Demonstration Leader | David Carpenter | ... Army Captain | Ben DiGregorio | ... FBI Agent | Saachiko | ... Woman in Uniform | Ben Colesberry | ... Truck Driver | Richard Iwamoto | ... Committee Chairman | Douglas Kato | ... Heckler #1 | Ken Y. Mayeno | ... Heckler #2 | Makio Sasaki | ... Heckler #3 | Tommy Allen | ... MP Soldier #1 | John McColpin | ... MP Soldier #2 | | Social Club Band | Ricardo E. Cespedes | ... Social Club Band | Yuji G. Hirayama | ... Social Club Band | Larry Honda | ... Social Club Band | William O. Hunt | ... Social Club Band | Mark G. Izu | ... Social Club Band | Jon C. Jang | ... Social Club Band | Brian J. Lee | ... Social Club Band | Francis G. Wong | ... Social Club Band | Russell Yoon | ... Social Club Band | Thomas R. Yoshida | ... Social Club Band | | Camp Band | Brian Oshima | ... Camp Band | Kurt Takayama | ... Camp Band | David Watanabe | ... Camp Band | Miles Watanabe | ... Camp Band | Ricardo E. Cespedes | ... Camp Band | Robbie Hioki | ... Camp Band | Dennis Hoda | ... Camp Band | Brian J. Lee | ... Camp Band | Vincent Wong | ... Camp Band | Russell Yoon | ... Camp Band | Yuji G. Hirayama | ... Camp Band |
REVIEWS Review by Gary Bouchard (posted on 14-May-2007) "Come See the Paradise" is a film that every American should see.
As well as being a very entertaining and dramatic film with a great storyline, this well crafted film forces us to take a close look another time in American History when civil liberties were taken away all in the name of War.
Review by Larry (posted on 2-Mar-2008) The movie is based on actual events that occurred after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In February, 1942 President Franklyn Roosevelt signed executive order 9066 and this set in motion the internment of over 120,000 Japanese in "camps" mostly in the western states. The majority of the internees were U.S. citizens.
The movie focuses on the Kawamura family, and the main character in the movie is Lily Kawamura, the oldest of five siblings.
The movie shows how the very heart of the Japanese community on the west coast was torn out and trampled by racism and war hysteria.
The movie does a good job of portraying how the interment split families and the aftermath of the egregious event. In the Kawamura family a rift developes bewtween the father, his daughter Lily who eloped with Jack McGann to get married, and his son, Charlie, who felt that his father had betrayed his trust (the father was arrested for his cultural activities within the Japanese community and Charlie felt he had collaborated with the FBI).
After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled executive order 9066 to be unconstitutional in 1944, the families were allowed to return home. For the Kawamura's this meant going to live on a strawberry farm in Florin, California. By the time the family leaves the camp the only male left in the family was Frankie, the youngest sibling.
Tamlyn Tomita gives a memorable performance as Lily, Dennis Quaid not so memorable as Jack McGann. The movie has a good flow to it, a good story line, a very good musical score.
Do you know something we don't?
Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile
Copyright ©2019 Soylent Communications
|