Resisting Paradise

The choices people make during war is the focus of Barbara Hammer's documentary Resisting Paradise, which focuses on the French Riviera during the early 1940s, where artists Henri Matisse and Pierre Bonnard continue their paintings and even maintain a friendly correspondence that seems more concerned with matters of paint and palette than Axis versus Allies. But while Matisse was busy with his paintbrushes, his wife, son, and daughter assumed dangerous leadership roles in the local resistance (in fact, his daughter was later captured and tortured by the SS). Also active in this geographical area was Marie-Ange Allibert Rodriguez, a low-ranking civil servant who risked her life to save many French Jews and political agitators from deportation. Unlike Matisse, who found the war to be a bothersome distraction from his art, Marie-Ange lived out most of her life in total obscurity and only received honors from the French and Israeli governments during her twilight years. While Hammer's film may have been partially intended to question the meaning of art during wartime, it's real value lies in examining the priorities that people adopt during times of crisis: the brilliance of Matisse and Bonnard's art pales in view of their seemingly indifferent attitudes to their country's travails, while Marie-Ange's sacrifices and risks were ignored for far too many years. Resisting Paradise is a challenging, complex, and highly unsettling film that forces viewers to examine their own values during troubling times. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)