Come See the Paradise (1990)

Portraying one of the shadier details of American history, this is the story of Jack McGurn, who comes to Los Angeles in 1936. He gets a job at a movie theatre in Little Tokyo and falls in ... See full summary »

Director:

Alan Parker

Writer:

Alan Parker

Stars:

Dennis Quaid, Tamlyn Tomita, Sab Shimono

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dennis Quaid	...	Jack McGurn
Tamlyn Tomita	...	Lily Yuriko Kawamura / McGann
Sab Shimono	...	Hiroshi Kawamura
Shizuko Hoshi	...	Mrs. Kawamura
Stan Egi	...	Charlie Kawamura
Ronald Yamamoto	...	Harry Kawamura
Akemi Nishino	...	Dulcie Kawamura
Naomi Nakano	...	Joyce Kawamura
Brady Tsurutani	...	Frankie Kawamura
Elizabeth Gilliam	...	Younger Mini McGann
Shyree Mezick	...	Middle Mini McGann
Caroline Junko King	...	Older Mini McGann
Pruitt Taylor Vince	...	Augie Farrell
Colm Meaney	...	Gerry McGurn
Becky Ann Baker	...	Marge McGurn

Storyline

Portraying one of the shadier details of American history, this is the story of Jack McGurn, who comes to Los Angeles in 1936. He gets a job at a movie theatre in Little Tokyo and falls in love with the boss's daughter, Lily Kawamura. When her father finds out, he is fired and forbidden ever to see her again. But together they escape to Seattle. When the war breaks out, the authorities decide that the Japanese immigrants must live in camps like war prisoners.

---

Plot Keywords:

japanese | love | railway station | snow cone | rifle | 

---

Taglines:

In 1942, over 100,000 Americans were interned in prison camps.....In America.

---

Genres:

Drama | History | Romance | War

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

January 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bienvenue au paradis

Filming Locations:

Astoria, Oregon, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$847,306 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min 133 min (FMC Library Print)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Toward the end when Lily is sitting at the kitchen table she reports to her aunt that a big bomb, an atomic bomb, was dropped over Hiroshima. "In a 1/10th of a second 200,000 people were killed". This is a factual error. Approximately 70,000 were killed that day and roughly another 70,000 by the end of 1945.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Older Mini McGann: Why are we so early?
Lily Yuriko Kawamura: It's good to early.
Older Mini McGann: Do you ever worry that you won't recognize him, Mama?
Lily Yuriko Kawamura: You recgnize me, don't you?
Older Mini McGann: Well, he might have grown a beard or a moustache or something. And I was so little. I only think I remember him. Do you think he'll remember me?
Lily Yuriko Kawamura: Well, he has all your photographs and all the letters you wrote him, and he has all your school reports
Older Mini McGann: You sent him my school reports?
Lily Yuriko Kawamura: Of course I did. I wanted to let him know how well you were doing. Come on, now. I...
[...]

---

Connections

Features Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939)

---

Soundtracks

"Flower That Blooms in the Rain"
Written and Arranged by Fujio Ikeda
Lyrics by Takahashi
Performed by Mariko Seki

User Reviews

Fine, but not perfect

During WWII, Japanese Americans are stripped of their property and sent to prison camps in California. Also seemingly taken away is the family life of an American man and his Japanese soulmate.

This is powerful material and COME SEE THE PARADISE does well as a first attempt. Surely, sooner or later more talented directors will revisit this bit of history and hit a home run.

Few movie fans know that STAR TREK's George Takei (Mr. Sulu) lived with his family in these California concentration camps during WWII. Both his father and grandmother died in them.

As ROOTS showed us the reality of slavery in America, as GERONIMO taught us that the taking of the West was an ugly affair devoid of justice, as the DEAR HUNTER told us that the troubles of Vietnam were deeper than reported on the evening news; COME SEE THE PARADISE gives us an imperfect glimps of some of our darkest mistakes of WWII.