Fire in Paradise (2019)

“In just a matter of twenty minutes what looked like a calm sky was.. it was orange.” – Mary Ludwig

Number of Times Seen – 1 (27 Dec 2019)

Brief Synopsis – Documentary about how a small brush fire went out of control and destroyed a whole community in Northern California.

My Take on it – This is a film that I came across by accident and was quite intrigued to see what this short documentary was all about.

They do a wonderful job here of showing how tragedy can occur in a matter of minutes which forces people to find the strength to act heroically in order to save themselves and those around them when its needed.

This film is quite short and clocks in at just under 40 minutes yet they still are able to find a way to make us care so much about these characters as they describe the ordeals that they endured.

Each of them has a unique tale of what happened to them on that fateful day which changed all of their lives forever.

The choice to give us a nice gamut of stories from diverse people like policemen, fire fighters, school teachers, residents of the area and of course the spouses of some of these people adds a whole other dimension to the way we see this seemingly small story.

It also brings home the message of family and love that is presented here and resonates throughout.

The movie does a great job showing how these people view the events of that day and how hope has sparked within their lives over the past year as things have changed in so many ways for them some for better and others for the worse, but still they know that they have so much to be grateful for.

Bottom Line – Great depiction of how such a tragedy can occur so quickly and how people will act heroically in order to save themselves and others when deemed necessary. The film is quite short, yet it finds a way to be quite impactful in the way that it makes us care so much about these characters as they recall all that happened to them on that fateful day that changed their lives forever. The choice to show schoolteachers, firemen, policemen, regular residence of these areas and also the spouses of the brave men and women who acted heroically on that day helps bring home the message of family and love and that resonates throughout. The way that these people look back at that life changing day is one that is filled with hope since we get to hear how their lives were changed for better and for worse by the events of that fire less than a year previously. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Winner of Best Short Documentary at the Hamptons International Film Festival (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)