Reel Paradise (2004)
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68% of critics liked it
(47 reviews) -
58% of users liked it
(730 ratings)
John Pierson is a passionate cinema enthusiast who has written books on maverick filmmakers (including the bestsellers Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes and Reel Paradise), co-created, produced, and hosted the Split Screen series on the Independent Film Channel network, and helped produce a number of… More John Pierson is a passionate cinema enthusiast who has written books on maverick filmmakers (including the bestsellers Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes and Reel Paradise), co-created, produced, and hosted the Split Screen series on the Independent Film Channel network, and helped produce a number of independent films, including early works by Spike Lee, Michael Moore, and Richard Linklater. In February 2000, Pierson traveled to Fiji to shoot an episode of Split Screen, where in the tiny village of Taveuni he discovered a fully functioning movie theater. A year later, Pierson discovered that the owner was closing shop and moving to New Zealand. Fascinated by the prospect of showing movies in a remote community that was still edging its way into 20th century technology -- most homes have no electricity or telephones -- Pierson took over the business. Although the theater had shown American films since the fifties, many of the impoverished locals were unable to pay the admission prices - so Pierson waived the costs, thus enabling more natives to attend. He and his family stayed in Taveuni for a year, and his friend Steve James (himself a documentary filmmaker of note) brought a camera crew to Fiji to document the final month of Pierson's experiment. Reel Paradise shows the Taveunians reacting to everything from Steamboat Bill Jr. to Jackass: The Movie, Pierson and his family discussing the reactions of his patrons, the exhibitors' sometimes thorny relationship with Christian missionaries who question his influence on the community, and the cultural and economic divide between the Pierson family and the Fiji natives. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Steve James
- Genres
- Documentary, Musical & Performing Arts, Special Interest
R,
- In Theaters
- Sep 2, 2005 Limited
- Studio
- Miramax Films
Critic Reviews
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Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Highly watchable.
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Ty Burr, Boston Globe
An amusingly damning portrait of a man trying to impose his will on a world that, really, has better things to do.
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Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Tthe comic fallout from his quixotic mission keeps Reel Paradise watchable.
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Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
The results stay with you, like memories of an unexpected and surprising vacation.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Sometimes it's not whether you succeed, but whether you try.
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