Pela Vida de um Amigo

This movie was one of the most powerful I have ever seen in terms of presenting the issue of what responsibility each of us has for our actions. It poses the question of whether two young men will return to Malaysia to serve prison terms for the hash purchases they made while on vacation. If they fail to act, the idealistic third member of their group will be executed. The performances by Vince Vaughn, Anne Heche, and Joaquin Phoenix are superb.

An added dimension is a short scene where the Vince Vaughn character asks his father for guidance on what he should do. Others also provide information and influence in shaping the decision on whether he should go back to Malaysia where jail conditions are so harsh his ability to survive a short term prison sentence is problematic.

This was different to what I expected. Still, Vaughan is an amazing actor and this film along with Phoenix's is both touching and tragic. Worth checking out this classic. Hard to believe it's 20 years old!

Return to Paradise is what Brokedown Palace should have been. Joaquin Phoenix, David Conrad and Vince Vaughn are 3 friends on a 5 week holiday in Penang. Joaquin stays behind and the others come home. Forward 2 years later a young lawyer tracks down the other 2 and they find out that Joaquin's character has been in prison for the past 2 years and they have 8 years to decide whether to take their share of the blame.

Joaquin Phoenix is the heart and soul of this movie. His performance is so poignant and real, he has truly come a long way since the 80s.

Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche are brilliant in their roles especially Anne Heche, she really took her character to another level and it was sometimes heartbreaking as her performance was so real.

This is one movie to check out if you haven't seen it. I did not know about this movie until 2 years ago when I saw it on cable and after just watching Brokedown Palace I was skeptical as it was really bad and I was so surprised when I watched Return to Paradise as it wasn't toned down or glossed over and all the principle actors were fantastic.

If you haven't seen it you certainly don't know what you're missing.

Return To Paradise is one of the best films you've never heard of. It was buried in the summer of 1998 to mostly positive reviews and was later unsuccessfully reinvented 9 months later here in the UK on the back of Psycho which also starred Vaughn and Heche. Its been unfairly treated by the now defunct Polygram as it is a quite incredible little drama with some superb performances and some moments of great power.

The premise is relatively simple. Three friends on holiday in Malaysia. Two leave. The police arrive and find hash where they were staying. The third is put in jail. Two years later a lawyer finds the two remaining men in New York and tells them that their friend was found guilty of trafficking. They must go back to share the punishment or he will die in 7 days.

Its a frightening dilemma and you can't help but ask yourself the same question. Would you go back? If one goes back they go to prison for 6 years. If both go they will have 3 years each. All of the arguments are put forward, making the answer not seem as clear as originally imagined.

The timeframe is made even tenser with titles reminding us of how many days are remaining. Vince Vaughn plays our hero who doesn't always act in the morally correct way we expect him to do. He doesn't immediately decide to go back, making us question if we would either. Vaughn gives the finest performance of his career as the not completely likeable 'Sheriff'. Anne Heche plays the increasingly desperate lawyer who will do anything to save her client from execution. And her desperation is made completely believable by Heche's multi-faceted performance.

And then Joaquin Phoenix plays the imprisoned Lewis who has little screen time but whenever he's on he totally captivates. His video message to his two friends is heartbreaking. There are numerous twists which serve to further the emotional capital which is placed in the conclusion.

And by the time the suspenseful court scene arrives, you will find yourself nervously hoping for a happy ending. Needless to say the film ends with a succession of unspeakably powerful scenes. Its hard to remember a film which I found as moving as this. It serves as a very poignant anti-drugs message. Its impact will stay with you for days, making it really quite unforgettable. Hunt this down. You will be richly rewarded.

This film is about moral dilemma – whether or not to give up three, or maybe six, years of life by accepting imprisonment in a Malaysian jail, or continue living in freedom knowing that a friend has died as a result. This point needs to be made up front – it is not a film about the rights or wrongs of Asian judicial or penal systems, nor is it a film about the morality of drug taking.

So we follow the two characters, Sheriff (Vaughn) and Tony (Conrad) who have to make this decision as they go through the decision-making process, prodded in no uncertain manner by their friend's attorney Beth (Heche). This tortuous process is played out against the comparatively comfortable background of their home city, New York. And not only the comforts of home, but also of employment and marriage prospects.

The process is played out a little unevenly although given the nature of the decision perhaps this is not surprising. But where it is flawed is the sudden blossoming of romance between Sheriff and Beth. Prior to this there had been no indication of this turn of events, indeed, quite the opposite as the two had regularly fallen out and appeared to have a mutual dislike for each other. Thus there is a feeling of a contrived piece of plotting which, to make matters worse, goes on to form the basis of the end of the movie.

Whether or not this is an accurate portrayal of the Malaysian judicial and penal systems seems an irrelevance. On a rather pedantic point where was the US embassy (and State Department) to provide support? It simply is not the case that in circumstances such as these that the lead characters would have been left on their own. That's not to say that the outcome would have been any different but it may well have affected some of the decisions individuals took towards the end. It might also have been an opportunity to add a little more reality and edge to the story, especially if the officials took an approach that put US foreign relations above the interests of its own citizens!

This is a movie that makes us think – and no movie that does that can be written off. And the acting, especially from Heche and Phoenix, is fine. But the plot flaws mean it's a good, rather than a great, film.