Reel Paradise

This is a documentary about John Pierson, a film/TV producer that (to be honest) I had never heard of, who took his family (wife and two children) to Fiji in order to run the "most remote movie theater in the world." I have to admire the family for allowing the film crew to come and film them in their most private moments. They appear to be quite candid and "real" in the documentary, and not mugging for the camera at all. There are many funny moments in this film, and after it was over, I felt as if I knew this family. The young son is quite witty and stole the show, in my opinion. We were thrilled that the family came to the Sundance screening we attended, as it was in Salt Lake City instead of the main location of Park City, and a lot of filmmakers do not bother to attend shows in "the hinterlands." I recommend this one!

I'm not sure if director Steve James set out to show us a glowing example of 'The Ugly Americans,' or not, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he did. And he succeeds spectacularly, down to getting me so irritated that I almost stopped the DVD three different times. As a documentary, it's very well done, but the subject matter is an entirely different story.

This is an examination of a dysfunctional family of four who practise mini-cultural imperialism -- without apparently realizing it -- on the island of Taveuni in Fiji.

Director James allows us to share in the lives of the obnoxious Pierson family, Americans who insist on stereotyping a stereotype. Why are they seemingly incapable of understanding that it's not a good idea to fling themselves into the centre of an entire culture and expect that culture to embrace THEIR values?

The patriarch of this family is John Pierson, an independent film producer with two rotten kids he can't control. His wife Janet is also a film producer with even less control, but she does at least show some sensitivity toward the Fijians.

Their children, surly 13-year-old son Wyatt and obnoxious 16-year-old daughter Georgia (she regularly calls her mother an a**hole), freely scream at or insult their parents, without even a sprinkle of respect. Why the Piersons would allow James's camera to capture their glaring parental inadequacies is surprising, unless they were oblivious to it. While watching this film, the word 'oblivious' becomes a pervasive motif when applied to the parents.

Fiji is a complex and even fragile country divided almost down the middle between indigenous Fijians and Indian-Fijians whose ancestors were brought to the islands by the British as slaves in the 1870s. There have been three military and civilian coups on the islands in the past 20 years alone, something that isn't mentioned in this film.

The indigenous Fijians (Melanesians and Polynesians) are a soft-spoken people with an ancient culture. Enter the well-meaning but goofy Pierson, a guy who thinks it's a great idea to show 'Jackass' to the natives at the community movie theatre he has bought as a kind of experiment. Pierson doesn't seem to understand that 'Jackass' or The Three Stooges might be campy cultural references in America, but they don't necessarily translate the same way in Fiji.

A Fijian film distributor tells Pierson it is not a good idea to show 'Jackass,' but the dime-store impresario insists. Not long after, the Fijian government showed eminently good taste and banned that brainless movie for being too 'gross' and not consistent with Fijian values. I almost applauded when I read that.

At one point in this film, Pierson, wearing a Three Stooges t-shirt, says 'maybe I don't belong here'. An excellent bit of soul-searching.

This worthy film has its faults: it's far too long and often meanders. After almost two hours, I was glad to see the back end of this family. I suspect a lot of Fijians felt the same way.

The director of "Hoop Dreams" and "stevie" has made another wonderful documentary film. The film profiles independent film guru John Pierson's 'mission' to bring back a cinema in the remotest island of the Fijis. Among his selections are Hollywood popcorn movies like "Bringing Down the House," hits like "X-Men," classics like "Apocalypse Now!" and Buster Keaton's "Stemaboat Bill Jr.", and even some Bollywood offerings and in one instance, some student films from Temple University. The biggest hit of them all seems to be "Jackass," which was encouraged by Pierson's 11 year old son, Josh. The film also captures the family's struggles to live in a far away place where modern technology is largely unavailable (no internet). There is also a battle with the local Catholic church, as its clergy feel that the cinema is competing with evening services. The film reminded of my own experiences at an outdoor cinema in Buyukada (an island near Istanbul) in Turkey where I spent several summers during my teenage years (I grew up here, but my father was from Turkey). Reel Paradise is a great tribute to the cinema, and even people who are not film fanatics will be genuinely moved by this film. Kudos to Kevin Smith for backing the project, and too everyone involved with Reel Paradise.

I fell in love with Fiji several years ago and return every June to detox from America. Fiji represents amazing incongruencies that push the visitor to the edge. You have unspeakable beauty and isolation in such a remote location but it is also a third world country that the British, of course, left in bad shape in the 1970's. Reel Paradise and its cast capture the contradictions that are ever present--down to the detail. And this is coming from someone who intimately knows Fijians and the culture. In fact, in many ways, Reel Paradise could be my story. The first time I arrived in Fiji my life was in complete transition. So I was completely open to all the joys and problems that come with Fiji. I experienced many of the misadventures, close friendships and odd occurrences that the Pearson's endured. This movie brilliantly captures the emotional struggles associated with painful choices and growth. I am loath to use pop psychology in my daily lexicon but I am sure the Pearson's did not realize they were indeed providing film viewers with a typical family's adjustment to life and all of its meltdowns. But with a twist. It isn't in some horrid American suburb but in a place so far away that most of its peoples were still living in bures only 40 years ago. This is why Reel Paradise is so special. I remember so vividly the first time I saw the star of the movie: the movie house itself. I was completely dumbfounded by such an odd sight. What was the story behind this old crumbling relic just beyond the international dateline? In fact the cinema was hardly in a village at all on an island far from Fiji's main island. It conjured up images of grey gardens --albeit one with kava, crime and conflicted relationships. Please experience Reel Paradise and know that this is as real as one may ever get to Fiji.

John Pierson imposed himself, his wife, and his two children on the natives of a remote island in Fiji. The island could have used resources for education and health care. John Pierson "contributed" by showing movies to the island people. He didn't even know how to use the projector. He was just present.

He showed loathing for one positive outlet the children on the island had, their school.

He had no regard for the Fijian people, their culture, or their future. He imported the very worst in American culture (extremely poor parental guidance, instruction, discipline, structure). He was loud, boorish, and obnoxious in his host country.

The documentary has no point. It is meant to be funny, but it just shows a selfish idiot who imposes himself on people who didn't ask him to come. He made a fool of himself, but at least he starred in his own documentary.