Paradise (1991)

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

The bittersweet 1987 French drama 'Le Grand Chemin' has been reworked into a vehicle for Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, taking the same story and turning it into a big screen pacifier for undiscriminating moviegoers (with an aversion to sub-titles). The original version was drawn from director Jean-Loup Hubert's childhood memories of the summer he spent with an estranged, small town couple, learning about life while they come to terms with the death of their own son. The watered-down American model is based on nothing except the overwhelming desire to make a sugar-coated box office hit, presenting the young boy as a cuddly matchmaker for his surrogate parents. Writer director Mary Agnes Donoghue does her best to make the experience as painless as possible, but in the process smooths out all the rough edges of the story. The film, as a result, should have been easy to dislike, but it really doesn't provoke any strong emotions, pro or con: it's too bland, too generic, and (thankfully, for the filmmakers) too harmless.

Life is not always pretty. Neither is unresolved grief. But innocence is always beautiful. A couple in a small town lose their only child to a tragic accident. This sensitive motion picture deals with how the human soul reacts to personal loss and how it changes lives. The kind of movie you want to own so you can revisit it from time to time since its theme touches us all deeply. The scenery is gorgeous, the town is small and peaceful. The characters are meaningful and real. Unspoken bonds run deep throughout. A heartfelt film that captures our yearning for a father. This is a soul changing journey for a childless man who never got to be one. At first indifferent and angry, he inadvertently discovers something which he thought he might never experience, through the inescapable and magical innocence of a visiting young boy who seems to somehow understand his plight. Both he and his wife find themselves confronted in a way that changes them forever. This film is a forgotten gem.

I wrote a short essay after watching this movie, not because it affected me, but that it left such a great impression. To me, the use of 'Paradise' as title is apt, as the movie goes to show how many people continue to live in their private hells, when all around them is a place which seems like paradise. These people, though socially interactive at times, seem more preoccupied with the ghosts of their pasts rather than the blessings of the moment. Only when these characters are able to let go of the demons that haunt them are they able to once again experience the joys of love and intimacy.This film can help us to evaluate the things that we allow to control us, and help us to understand that instead of examining our lives under a microscope, we should allow ourselves to look up and out sometimes, and maybe discover all those things missing in our lives but which were right by us all the time.

Don Johnson, Melanie Griffith, Elijah Wood, Thora Birch, and Sheila McCarthy star in this beautiful movie on how love can come through the most horrible of situations. Ben and Lily Reed (Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith) are a couple that have lost the spark in their marriage since their young son died. When a friend of Lily's asks that they watch him over the summer Lily agrees. Willard (Elijah Wood) is the loving child who starts to forge friendships with both Ben and Lily. This movie is truly wonderful. Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith give outstanding performances in this funny, touching, and wonderful film.