Ron Howard, Documentarian Extraordinaire

 

Ron Howard is a talent I really respect and he's most recently moved into the world of documentaries.   He's always had a flair for telling a good story and there is no better tale to tell than a real one.

His latest work in this genre is "Rebuilding Paradise" and it is a phenomenal motion picture.  Culled at first from a lot of phone videos, this film tells the story of the simple town of Paradise, California.   Indeed, a Mayberry that Ron himself might recall.  The simplicity is marred violently on November 8, 2018 when an innocent fire, sparked by Pacific Gas and Electric, spreads with Santa Ana winds and effectively destroys much of the town and kills 85 residents.

The opening ten minutes of iPhone footage takes you right through the path of the fire as residents flee and townsfolk like the local police work alongside first responding firemen to fight the menacing flames.

You see the morning after devastation.  Homes gone.  Half of the town's schools destroyed.   Cherished loved ones lost.   You feel every loss as if it was your own.

But, ultimately, this film is about hope and rebuilding.   You become acquainted with some of the Paradise residents like a patrolman and the former mayor and the superintendent of schools as they and others maneuver through the anger and grief and denial that accompanies all tragedies.   

The school superintendent's story is most remarkable as she works tirelessly to find classroom space for her schools and then manage to provide the high school seniors with a fitting graduation.   Her husband applauds her efforts at that ceremony.   He sadly dies of a heart attack three days later.

The folks of Paradise love what they had and they want to recreate it.   They lash out at the villainous electric company with the aid of one Erin Brockovich (who looks nothing like Julia Roberts).  Some leave town for good.  Others stay and, at the film's end, celebrate the one year anniversary of the tragedy with resilience and promise.

If there is to be an Oscar ceremony for 2020, please tell me that there is no way that "Rebuilding Paradise" is not nominated for Best Documentary.  It is one of the best ones I have seen in over a decade.   Kudos to Ron and most certainly to those Paradise denizens...every last one of them.

I saw the movie on-demand via Amazon Prime, but I believe the National Geographic channel has started showing it as well.   In whatever portal you visit, you must see "Rebuilding Paradise."

LEN'S RATING:  Four stars.

Dinner last night:  Grilled bratwurst.