Reel Paradise (2004)

68% of critics liked it
(47 reviews)
56% of users liked it
(712 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

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 53 min.
Directed By: Steve James
Genres: Documentary, Musical & Performing Arts, Special Interest

In Theaters: Sep 2, 2005 Limited
On DVD: Feb 14, 2006
Studio: Miramax Films

Critic Reviews

Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Highly watchable.
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.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Tthe comic fallout from his quixotic mission keeps Reel Paradise watchable.
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
The results stay with you, like memories of an unexpected and surprising vacation.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Sometimes it's not whether you succeed, but whether you try.
Jan Stuart, Newsday
One wish[es] James could have followed him and his family from the beginning of their year-long adventure, rather than being swept in at the emotional tail end.
Ethan Alter, Film Journal International
A fascinating study in cross-cultural communication, as well as a deeply personal examination of family dynamics.
, Boston Phoenix
What is learned? Not so much how cultures impinge on each other as how cinema shapes our lives.
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The director's visit wasn't long enough to fully humanize this culture clash, but some of the movie's conclusions seem universal.
Scott Renshaw, Salt Lake City Weekly
Though these scenes may have energy, they're also mostly noise -- distractions from a collection of scenes without a driving force.
Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald
Ultimately, it's the movies shown that make Reel Paradise so buoyant, for it speaks to the universality of a medium we often take for granted.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Unfortunately, the Piersons can be so unpleasant that watching them misbehave in Taveuni becomes a chore.
Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews
I found the 10 days of free films to be the intriguing part of Reel Paradise and the Piersons' life to be something more interesting to them than to me.
Sean Means, Salt Lake Tribune
A funny fly-on-the-wall account of how the Piersons ingratiated themselves to the community, with uneven results.
Laura Clifford, Reeling Reviews
its scattershot structure makes it disappointing and its preeminent focus on the social problems the Piersons encounter grows tiresome
Shawn Levy, Oregonian
You are buoyed by the purity of the islanders' responses to some of what Pierson shows them: the Three Stooges, Buster Keaton and, most delightedly, Jackass: The Movie.
Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
Serves not only as a charming, witty glimpse into an American nuclear family uprooted to browner pastures, but also as an exploration of how Hollywood product is viewed outside the Lower 48.
Noel Murray, AV Club
The Piersons are warm, funny people, and most of Reel Paradise shows them comically bickering with each other and laughing at the absurdity of the whole project.
Jean Lowerison, San Diego Metropolitan
Anyone who has relocated to a totally different environment will relate.