Come See The Paradise

Out on DVD is a little overlooked film that holds an important place in my heart. Alan Parker's 1990 film Come See The Paradise has been available on VHS for quite some time but never on DVD until now. It chronicles a love story between Japanese-American, Lily, and Irish-American, Jack, before, during and after our war with Japan. The forced relocation of Japanese Americans into camps serves as the backdrop. The film came out just as we were getting involved in the first Gulf War and I remember thinking at the time that no one is going to want to revisit this blemish in our history when we're just getting into another struggle. So the film came and went quickly without a lot of notice. I had just come out of film school and was lucky enough to get on with the production as a camera assistant in 1989. They shot around Portland, Astoria, Seattle and Palmdale. In L.A. I stayed with another camera assistant when the film wrapped and attempted to get my bearings, but saw that it wasn't going to be the life for me, so packed up, headed home and got into the big time of floorcovering. I always say that I got the taste of the best too early. Parker was one of my favorite directors. Dennis Quaid was a fairly big name. I couldn't envison a future in L.A. I think I chose the right path, but my decision still haunts me to this day. Anyway that's 17 years ago and this DVD is fun to watch. As DVDs usually do, there are extras including stills from the production of the movie. I was shocked to see that I appear in a couple shots that are very eerie to me. I don't even know who that guy is anymore. Click the images for a bigger view.