The defence The Popcorn Loyalist
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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Paradise
Romance · Adventure · 1982
After their caravan is attacked and their respective families butchered by Arab marauders, teenagers David and Sarah flee across the desert. But the desert is filled with danger from the elements, animals and the unwholesome appetite of the Jackal, a sheik who wants Sarah for himself. However, the desert also holds temptation and love. David and Sarah hide out in an oasis and build a life for themselves, discovering each other in new ways.
Movie details
Paradise
“If only it could have been forever.”
1982 Romance · Adventure 1h 42m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
4.9 / 10
3.2K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
0 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
20 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
6.0 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
After their caravan is attacked and their respective families butchered by Arab marauders, teenagers David and Sarah flee across the desert. But the desert is filled with danger from the elements, animals and the unwholesome appetite of the Jackal, a sheik who wants Sarah for himself. However, the desert also holds temptation and love. David and Sarah hide out in an oasis and build a life for themselves, discovering each other in new ways.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Paradise?
For the defence
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
June and John
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X
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A veteran call girl and a runaway prostitute witness a murder which sends them on an out-of-control roller coaster ride through the twilight zone of sex-for-sale.
Nate and Hayes
Adventure · 1983
Nathaniel Williamsen is taken to an island mission with his fiancee Sophie. Their ship, the Rona, is captained by the roguish Bully Hayes, who also takes a liking to Sophie. When Sophie is kidnapped by slave trader Ben Pease "Nate" teams with Hayes in order to find her.
Missing Link
Adventure · 1988
A million years ago in Africa: the last of the ape-humans is on flight from the humans, who killed the rest of his clan. Alone, seeking others of his kind, he traverses steps, deserts and mountains until he reaches the coast. But there are already humans, too.
The Lost Princess
Action · 2025
After an Ayahuasca vision transports him to a haunted castle, Alec meets Hanna who tales him the story of her mother's forced marriage and how the forbidden passion with her father was in danger when the princess pregnancy became obvious
Mackenna's Gold
Adventure · 1969
A bandit kidnaps a Marshal who has seen a map showing a gold vein on Indian lands, but other groups are looking for it too, while the Apache try to keep the secret location undisturbed.
True Romance
Action · 1993
Clarence marries hooker Alabama, steals cocaine from her pimp, and tries to sell it in Hollywood, while the owners of the coke try to reclaim it.
Gold
Action · 2022
In the not-too-distant future, two drifters traveling through the desert stumble across the biggest gold nugget ever found and the dream of immense wealth and greed takes hold. They hatch a plan to excavate their bounty, with one man leaving to secure the necessary tools while the other remains with the gold. The man who remains must endure harsh desert elements, ravenous wild dogs, and mysterious intruders, while battling the sinking suspicion that he has been abandoned to his fate.
Stolen Girl
Thriller · 2025
In 1993, Maureen’s six-year-old daughter Amina is snuck out of the country by her ex-husband, Karim. After years of unsuccessful attempts to find her, Maureen intersects with a professional retriever of internationally abducted children who promises to help her find Amina in exchange for her collaboration.
The Hot Spot
Romance · 1990
Upon arriving to a small town, a drifter quickly gets into trouble with the local authorities — and the local women — after he robs a bank.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Stuart Gillard
Written by
Stuart Gillard
Willie Aames
David
Phoebe Cates
Sarah
T
Tuvia Tavi
The Jackal
Richard Curnock
Geoffrey
N
Neil Vipond
Reverend
A
Aviva Marks
Rachel
Yosef Shiloach
Ahmed
Court is in session
Put Paradise on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.