REEL PARADISE

D: Steve James

Documentary Feature Spotlight

It began as a gag on IFC’s Split Screen: indie maven John Pierson lugging cans of film to the remotest movie theater in the world – the 180 Meridian, located on the island of Taveuni, Fiji. Then Pierson bought the ramshackle theatre and relocated his family to Taveuni, where he began programming films, free of charge, for the 288 Fijians who would fit inside. In this enjoyable and frequently funny documentary, Pierson compares himself to the guy in The Mosquito Coast, but he comes off more like Fitzcarraldo, bringing Apocalype Now Redux and Gangs of New York to a population as turned off, as it happens, by highbrow cinema as his own children are. James (Hoop Dreams) isn’t always kind to Pierson (a recent transplant to Austin) and, to his credit, doesn’t shrink from the complexities behind the clashing cultures, but the film really shines when it illuminates the generation gap. Pierson’s son Wyatt is a riot. Alamo Drafthouse Theatre, 4pm

This article appears in March 18 • 2005.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US