Rebuilding Paradise

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Rebuilding Paradise

PG-13

2020

1h 35m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

69 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Residents of Paradise, Calif., come together to heal their community after a devastating wildfire.

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Critics Consensus

From the horror of natural disaster to the spirit summoned behind the titular effort, Rebuilding Paradise stirringly depicts one community's perseverance.

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Mark Kermode

Kermode & Mayo's Film Review

It's very emotional...watching people going back and rebuilding their community...it's a tale of human endurance.

Oct 8, 2020

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Ellen E Jones

Guardian

Rebuilding Paradise might easily have blazed with righteous fury, but its conclusions are quieter and bleaker.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 25, 2020

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Tim Cogshell

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

This was a pretty homogenous community... The film doesn't really speak to that very much.

Aug 13, 2020

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M.N. Miller

Ready Steady Cut

Ron Howard’s gripping documentary, Rebuilding Paradise, is a soul-stirring effort that honors those departed by focusing on the ones who picked up the pieces, grieved for their families, and lived to fight another day.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 1, 2022

Full Review

Robin Holabird

KUNR (Reno, NV)

With northern Nevada skylines increasingly bearing the orange tinges of nearby fires, Ron Howard's new documentary Rebuilding Paradise gains extra resonance.

Jul 26, 2021

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Richard Trenholm

CNET

My eyes welled up about three minutes in and stayed wet throughout -- but it's also a warning, a cautionary tale.

Jul 14, 2021

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Joel C

The inferno inside that fire is awe inspiring to see, and the devastation is brutal. The aftermath is full of things that you'd only come to understand once a catastrophe like this unfolds. Also showing the side of humans helping a community to rebuild their lives makes for a good story in this documentary.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/02/21

Full Review

Audience Member

So sad what happened to this community. This doc gives an inside look. A lot of things about the rebuild and fire prevention could have been explained better, but the human element of this film made it very moving.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

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andy h

Ron Howard's likability shines through as he shows the turmoil of the citizens of paradise after they experience the harness of nature.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

dave d

'Rebuilding Paradise', a documentary film from Ron Howard about the wildfires that destroyed Paradise, California, hits you hard early, but, for me, it missed the mark. I wanted the political side of things, not the story of the rebuild. It's emotional and interesting at times, but a lot of the people being interviewed are just boring. It's powerful and a tear should be shed, however, the final 30 minutes were a slog. When the movie gets political it's good and when it doesn't it falls flat. It's a tad unfocused with the tonal changes of who's to blame and how to fix the situation. Final Score: 5.7/10

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Solid documentary from Ron Howard about the rebuilding of the town of Paradise, which was destroyed by the Camp Fire in 2018... The story of what happened to that town is devastating and this film follows the aftermath of the fire and the efforts of the citizens to rebuild.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

Audience Member

What an emotional movie, so worth watching....

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

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Ron Howard

Director

Sara Bernstein

Producer

Brian Grazer

Producer

Ron Howard

Producer

Xan Parker

Producer

Justin Wilkes

Producer

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Synopsis

Residents of Paradise, Calif., come together to heal their community after a devastating wildfire.

Director: Ron Howard
Producer: Sara Bernstein, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Xan Parker, Justin Wilkes
Production Co: Imagine Documentaries, Imagine Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Thematic Elements|Some Strong Language|Intense Scenes of Peril)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 31, 2020
Runtime: 1h 35m

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