REBUILDING PARADISE – Review

Looking back on the last few months, many (including yours truly, I’ll admit) have indulged in bouts of self-pity, perhaps even despair. “I can’t get a haircut”, “The movie theatres are closed”, “The store’s outta’ TP”, were often heard in conversation or on social media. But at least you could complain in the comfort of your home. What happens when that gets wiped out in minutes, or in this case, an entire town (comprised of long-time residents). This new documentary is not focused on faraway land ravaged by earthquakes or tsunamis. Yes, it’s set in the US of A, where parts of the country get battered by floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, along with some nasty tremors. For this film, the makers zero in the West where fire season looks to replace Fall or Winter for a look at an entire town almost wiped off the map. Oh, that filmmaker is an Oscar winner who’s been part of our pop culture for 60 years. He’s our eyes and ears as lots of determined everyday folks begin REBUILDING PARADISE.

It all ignites (literally) two years ago, early on November 8, 2018, as the fires begin seeping out from Feather Creek Canyon. Their destination: Paradise, California a rustic town of over 25,000 in the Sierra Nevada foothills just above the northeastern San Fernando Valley. Daylight quickly gave way to darkness as the black smoke blocked the sun with the flames providing the only illumination. We hear the police and rescue radios relaying the disaster’s progress. Officials dash into neighborhoods, warning residents to evacuate. Via many home videos (mainly cell phones) we’re riding with those fleeing, trying not to look back at engulfed homes, dodging the flames and downed powerlines, and clogging the roads and streets. Days later, when they’re allowed to return, the horrified (former) homeowners find smoldering vacant lots. And many learn the agonizing fate of missing loved ones. Eighty-five neighbors lost their lives in the inferno. The film then follows a diverse group of Paradise citizens. We meet “Woody” Cullerton who proudly proclaims that he’s the former “town drunk” who sobered and became a former mayor. Then there’s the orange-haired “whirlwind” Michelle John, the superintendent of schools who won’t rest until the students can return, but she’s got to set up temporary facilities and arrange for many to be added to nearby towns like Chico. A fixture at the high school is psychologist/counselor Cary Ingersoll who has to deal with her own trauma as she comforts the kids. For many sequences we’re riding alongside police officer Matt Gates in his squad car, serving his community even after the home he shared with his wife and two young sons was leveled. Along the way, we follow two high-schoolers whose senior year plans are scrapped, in addition to a young couple who debate whether to take their two toddlers and settle elsewhere. The doc plays out over time, showing us the town in a month, two months, six months, nine months, and year from that fateful Fall day.

And just who is the big-time director I mentioned above? Why it’s none other than Ron Howard, no stranger to feature-length documentaries although his previous works were set in the world of music makers (profiles of the Beatles, Pavoratti, and behind the scenes of a big music festival). His involvement might make you believe that this is a true-life BACKDRAFT follow-up, but it’s closer to his first big TV acting gig with Paradise not that far removed from Mayberry. After getting our pulses racing with the “middle of Hell’ opening (kudos to the editing team of M. Watanabe Milmore, and Gladys Murphy for stitching together a real “nail-biter’ with the “found footage”), Howard offers an engaging group of character studies, while showing the sorrow-filled return to “nothing”. He’s said in interviews that the strength of these folks is that they “show up”, which is illustrated with stirring footage of the town memorial ( a touching slideshow tribute to those lost), a restrained tree-lighting ceremony (could that be a relative of Charlie Brown’s tree), and several city council meetings. Aside from the fire, there is a “villain”, namely Pacific Gas and Electric, who, we’re told, did not shut down service at the start of the Camp Fire, and never really upgraded their ancient (1920s) equipment. And where’s there are PG&E troubles, who swoops in like a Marvel superhero? Yup, the “for real” Erin Brokovich speaks at another big town gathering imploring that they hold the utility giant’s “feet to the fire” (maybe she’s more like 007 taking down SPECTRE). This adds extra drama to another gathering in which a PG&E rep (guess he drew the short straw) speaks (and apologizes) at another “filled to the brim” meeting, which extolls the residents’ inspiring civility (no screaming and no big boiling pot of tar waiting for the rep). The big “stunners” occur in the final act as two of the main players are cruelly “blindsided” by fate (one is hit with a profound personal tragedy mere hours after their greatest professional triumph). And other than the earlier named utility, Howard points to other contributors, mainly the inaction on climate change, backed up by a tight montage of extreme events around the globe. All this is given big dramatic heft by the subtle haunting scores of Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe over the superb cinematography of Kelly A. Cook. In these trying times, many viewers should find inspiration from Howard’s ode to the heroes determined and dedicated to REBUILDING PARADISE.

3 Out of 4

REBUILDING PARADISE opens in select theatres on Friday 7/31 and is available as a Digital Download on several streaming apps and platforms.