Reviews

Historically, the struggle that immigrants had in trying to get to other countries without the right papers was definitely a real struggle especially when they were trying to get to their family. Just so happened that in this case, Bilal was motivated by his love for Mina and his longing for being with her for the rest of his life. Customs were so very strict, where those, who wanted to immigrate, had to sort of in a way smuggle themselves across borders. This was the case, especially in one of the beginning scenes, where Bilal and a group of other men were in a truck trying to get into the UK but Bilal could not breathe with the plastic bag over his head along with the fact that he was tortured with one, in Turkey, so they got caught. Another accurate depiction was through the fact that immigrants in France were labeled aliens. This was the case in many countries for people that were not born in the country they inhabited. Additionally in terms of the scenes and plot of this movie, I was very much expecting a happy ending with Bilal and Mina given that he was willing to put his life on the line trying to swim across the English Channel to reach her. Also, given that Simon was risking his reputation and lifestyle to help Bilal reach his girlfriend in the UK. Even though I am really upset, the fact that it was not what I was expecting, given that Bilal actually ended up dying, made me actually like the movie more since the unexpected happened.

The movie "Come See the Paradise" was accurate in the fact that after the Pearl Harbor Attack, by the Japanese, the United States Government decided to relocate the Japanese into isolated internment camps in fear that some could be spies working at perhaps a bigger attack within America instead of on the coast. In the movie, Lily's family is forced to move out and forced into an internment camp without knowing why or when they will be released. Additionally, in the camp there were riots as well against the fact that the Japanese were ethnically isolated from the rest of society and Lily's brother took part in the riots with her family thinking that he wouldn't. In addition, Lily and Jack, Dennis Quaid's character, have had a daughter, who goes into the camp with her mother, while Jack goes into the Army, but not before one of the most lacerating scenes in the film, when Jack takes his little daughter to meet Santa Claus, and Santa refuses to let the child sit on his lap. "She's an American," Jack informs Santa, grabbing him, "and you will sit here and listen to what she wants for Christmas or I will kill you." "Come See the Paradise" has been criticized in a few places because it uses a technique that is common in movies about minority groups: A convenient Caucasian provides the point of view, so that the audience will have someone to identify with. The fact that it was told from this point of view does not sit well with me because the director is assuming a large Caucasian audience, which might not be the case, and the director also decides to include slurs appointed at the Japanese as well, which makes those that are Japanese watching this film very uncomfortable. So I think this movie was accurate. but in terms of audience liking it had a minimal effect on me.

To start off, this film was one of the most gruesome and intense films I ever laid eyes on. Through illustrating scenes of women being raped, women being abused and women treated inhumanely, the director definitely wants her audience to sympathize and empathize with the women that were affected physically and mentally. Even though some of the women survived the camp, there experiences at the camp is something that will never go away and thus there lives will never be the same as well. The way women were traumatized is unheard of through history to be honest. Additionally, this film was extremely accurate in terms of how women were treated and how they proceeded once they were released from being held captive at the camp. Also, the director wants her audience to realize that monsters come in all forms, which is illustrated through the juxtaposition between the way the soldiers treated her vs the way the captain treated. Even though it seemed like the captain treated her better, towards the end of the film the captain chokes her, which illustrates that he is just like the other soldiers that raped her. This movie did a great job of illustrating the ethnic internment of Bosniaks during the Bosnian War.

Before watching this movie I knew nothing about it and so I was not sure what I was in for at all! When watching the first half of the movie, I immediately thought that this movie would have been some kind of immortal romantic relationship since the main character Guido, incessantly tried to make Dora his woman. He went through great lengths to do so as well and ended up doing so even though he was a Jew and she was Italian.

Abruptly, a child appeared, who happened to be their son, with no sign that they were even having a child to begin with, but perhaps that was intentional in some way to throw the audience off. In addition, another event that happened with no hint whatsoever was when Guido's place was trashed and we see them getting transported to the train that would take him and his son to the concentration camp. That is when I realized that this movie was about the Nazi Concentration Camps, which was about half way through the movie. Finally, I extremely disliked the part when the father was killed the day, literally, before the night when the camp was liberated, which was definitely intentional in order to keep the audience intrigued.

Historically, there were accurate portrayals of what happened exactly at the Nazi Concentration Camps such as: merciless treatment of little children and the elderly by killing them, and making the men and women work mercilessly all day as well. However at the end when Giosue was reunited with his mom, the chances of that happening during the Holocaust Era was really minimal because families were torn a part to the last degree possible. Also, the chance that a child did not get put in the gas chamber and killed was not likely, but Guido's son got lucky in the movie since he did not join the other kids when they were told to take a "shower." Overall, the fact that Guido tried his best to make it seem like they were in some kind of game was really cool and unique since he was sold on not revealing to his son, where they really were.