Passage to Paradise is one of those movies that evokes sadness - not because of its plot, but because it could have been absolutely wonderful and falls woefully short.
The premise is relatively simple. Two very different people cross paths one fateful day on a scenic Italian highway. Renato (Tcheky Karyo) is a private detective just approaching the middle of his life. His specialty seems to be following adulterous folks in order to collect evidence for divorce proceedings. It is on such a job that he encounters an old American lady crossing the road. Having just escaped from her nursing home and speaking very little Italian, Martha (Julie Harris) is making her way down the highway looking for a ride.
She eventually manages to wrangle one from the very couple that Renato is following. When Martha is dropped off at the nearest town and Renato loses the couple, he has nowhere to turn but to the eccentric woman. Now the stage is set for what could have been both a funny and inspirational movie. Unfortunately, the film is much too earnestly focused on achieving the latter, and that, in the end, proves to be its undoing.
The pairing of Harris' flaky Martha and Karyo's temperamental Renato does allow for some extremely humorous moments. One scene in particular, where Renato is sponge-bathing Martha in a bubble bath, is wonderfully comic. This hints at just how underutilized the inherent humor of the plot is. Instead, the movie rejoices more in the tenderness of Martha and Renato's time together, and the attention lavished on this adly degenerates the film into a mildly uplifting bore.
The movie loses a great deal of steam after the initial giddiness of Renato and Martha's unlikely adventure wears off. It is, in fact, when they are forced back into the reality of their lives that the movie begins its downward spiral. The secondary story line of Renato's private eye job is completely lost for a bit, then pitifully revived in a few contrived scenes towards the end of the film. Worse still is the complete abandonment of the tone of the movie for a predictable finale that is simply out of place.
Further complicating matters is a plethora of plot holes left unanswered. First, it is never really explained why Martha, who has apparently been in Italy for a good long while, has yet to pick up even the most rudimentary aspects of the language. Furthermore, why did her children place her in a care facility in Italy if they all live in the US? Shoddy plotting is visible in Karyo's character as well. The actor is a Frenchman with an obvious French accent. His character has an Italian name and resides in Italy. In the film, Renato off-handedly explains that he was raised in France. No offense to Karyo or his solid performance, but why wasn't an Italian actor hired to fill the role? Passage to Paradise was, after all, an Italian production (it's actually entitled Passaggio per il Paradiso).
It is only as a result of the two leads' performances that Passage to Paradise is saved. Karyo and Harris have incredible chemistry for such an intentionally mismatched pair. Karyo has some inspired moments of frustration when dealing with the daffy Martha. Still, this is unquestionably Harris' film. The five-time Tony Award winner and veteran stage actress imbues Martha with a masterful combination of both cunning and vulnerability. Any scene without her seems painfully empty in comparison. It is almost a crime that Harris is probably best known in the US for her seven-year stint playing Val's mom on the 1980's primetime soap, Knots Landing.
Technically, the movie is above par. Jazz guitarist Pat Matheny's score is simple yet effective. The cinematography has some genuinely beautiful moments. A number of unusual shots as well as the stunning Italian countryside make for a visually interesting film overall. Unfortunately, as anyone who has seen The Cell can attest, neat visuals do not necessarily translate into a good movie.
Passage to Paradise falls short of being the inspirational dramedy it yearns to be. Julie Harris' absolutely wonderful performance simply cannot save what is otherwise a sadly insipid film. Great acting and interesting visuals are no match for a flimsy plot and an almost bizarrely trite ending. Harris earns four stars for her performance and it is mostly on her merit that the movie manages to earn half that many for itself.
