Review of Come See the Paradise

The film Come See the Paradise is a fairly standard Hollywood depiction of internment camps in the sense that it fails to focus on the many of the issues concerning internment and instead spends most of the film following an unbelievable and not convincing love story. The issue of Japanese internment is a charged subject and one of the darkest moments in American history. Thousands of American citizens and immigrants had their rights violated in dramatic ways because of racial prejudice. If one wants to portray this event in American history, the film must be tactful and treat the stories with care-Come See the Paradise failed to do this in almost every scene in the movie. The majority of movie, which runs two hours and eighteen minutes long, follows the relationship of Lucy Kawamura, an American citizen of Japanese descent portrayed by Tamlyn Tomita, and Jack McGurn, an Irish American played by Dennis Quaid who once again proves he can only be called an actor on a technicality. Watching their relationship unfold on the screen is frustrating to say the least. The film fails to address the real animosity an interracial couple at that time would face and therefore misses an opportunity to make a powerful commentary on the American social norms. Also, the character of Jack McGurn does not need be in the film at all. His character just serves as a way to engage traditional American audiences and generally detracts from any points the film attempts to make. There are several instances in the film which occur in the camp that are impactful. The discussion of the loyalty clauses the American government wanted the internees to sign and the dismal conditions within the camp were discussed and portrayed well. The film, however, choses to not focus on these events and instead continues to follow Jack McGurn and his struggles within the army. The film should have remained focused on the Kawamura family's experiences within the camp and attempt to portray the hardships and complex decisions which emerged during the course of the internment. Substance was sacrificed in this film in order to create a movie that would appeal to American audiences. Yet the film was still dismal by Hollywood standards as it had a cliché script, terrible acting, and overall muddle plot line which contained no resolution. I personally feel that if one is going to make a film about such as sensitive topic as Japanese Internment during World War II commercial goals should not be valued as much as concern for the memory of the victims and survivors.