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csmith-31
Reviews
Return to Paradise (1998)
Good Movie, But Not the Real Malaysia
This was a fairly good movie, exploring a moral choice: would you give up your own comfort to share in the punishment for something you did years earlier, or would you just let a friend take the rap? Unfortunately, however, the movie paints an erroneous picture of Malaysia. The film opens with the friends taking in Malaysia's "cheap drink, loose women and easy access to drugs." Nothing could be further from the truth. Alcohol is extremely expensive in Malaysia, the women are very conservative and buying drugs would be impossible.
As a predominately Muslim country, alcohol, sex and drugs are taboo. Malaysians do like to have fun, but without getting too wild - - similar to conservative Christian denominations in the U.S. In fact, the government of Malaysia would not allow the studio to film in the country, because of the morally corrupt image that the story puts forth. Instead, it was filmed in Thailand, as can be seen from the Thai store signs, non-Malaysian cars and the fact that Anne Heche's taxi cab is always driving on the wrong side of the street.
Enjoy the story, but do not get the idea that Malaysia is a free-love, drug-happy society. As the judge says, during the trial, "We are strict in our drug laws. As a result, our people enjoy life, are happy and are drug free. In your country (United States), however, there is crime in the streets and many people have their lives ruined by drugs. That's why death by hanging is the penalty for possessing more than minute quantities of drugs." One more thing: In Malaysia, if you are caught with small amounts of drugs, you are not put in jail. Instead, they put you through a well-run treatment program to help you stay drug-free. Large quantities, as is stamped on your visa, is considered trafficking and carries the penalty of death by hanging. In the U.S., with our prisons bursting at the seams from drug convictions, we are still unable to bring our own drug problem under control. Maybe we could learn something from Malaysia!
High School (1968)
This Film Did NOT Truly Capture NE High.
Well, I attended Northeast while Wiseman and crew were filming the movie. Twenty years later, I finally located a copy in the Indiana University libraries and watched it.
I can tell you that he did NOT capture the essence of our high school, due mostly to the disruption caused by the camera crew. I received a better education than anyone else I met in college. Since I double-majored in Electrical Engineering and Humanities at Notre Dame, I was grateful for the college-prep curriculum I had received at NE. My high school Chemistry, Physics, Calculus, History, English and Latin classes left me well-prepared for college.
Like the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle in Physics, where observing a subatomic particle changes its nature, the presence of the camera crew changes what happens in each venue. For example, there's a scene where an English teacher (Mrs. London) plays records all period because the camera's presence prevented students from paying attention to the scheduled lesson. Wiseman made it seem like "Here's what kids are learning all day long."
Coincidentally, I lived in Panama for three years. Wiseman's 1977 movie "Canal Zone", about the Panama Canal, presented a similarly incorrect view. Cinema Verite - - at least Frederick Wiseman's version - - is not worth the publicity it receives.