''A Stranger in Paradise'' is a 2013

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by Corrado Boccia and starring

Colin Egglesfield Colin Egglesfield (born February 9, 1973) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Josh Madden in the long-running soap opera ''All My Children'', Auggie Kirkpatrick on The CW's short-lived drama series ''Melrose Place'', and Evan Parks ...

Catalina Sandino Moreno Catalina Sandino Moreno (born 19 April 1981) is a Colombian actress. She shared the Silver Bear with Charlize Theron and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her leading role in '' Maria Full of Grace'' (2004). She cu ...

Stuart Townsend Stuart Townsend (born 15 December 1972) is an Irish actor. He portrayed Lestat de Lioncourt in the film adaptation of Anne Rice's ''Queen of the Damned'' (2002), and Dorian Gray in Alan Moore's ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' (2003). ...

and

Byron Mann Byron Mann is a Hong Kong-American actor of film and television. His best-known roles include Ryu in ''Street Fighter'', Silver Lion in '' The Man with the Iron Fists'', Wing Chau in '' The Big Short'', Admiral Augusto Nguyen on '' The Expanse ...

Plot

As written in the article by Movies News Week, the main character of Josh Pratt, played by (

), is on the verge of becoming a partner at a multibillion-dollar

hedge fund A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as ...

, but then his life is turned upside down when the

Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against mark ...

investigates the head of the fund for

insider trading Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider informati ...

. Pratt finds himself forced into a “vacation” he never asked for; he ends up in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...

with a price on his head, a morally ambiguous brother who is deeply involved with the

Thai mafia ''Jao por'' (Thai alphabet, Thai: เจ้าพ่อ, “godfather”) is a term used in Thailand to describe Thai organized crime groups. Meaning of the term ''Chao pho'' or ''jao poh'' literally means “godfather.” Chao pho, mostly based in ...

, and a propensity for getting shot at. Unfortunately for Pratt, the only way out is to give up information he doesn’t know he has.

Cast

as Josh Pratt *

as Jules *

as Lek *

as Paul Pratt *

Gary Daniels Gary Edward Daniels (born 9 May 1963) is an English actor, producer, martial artist, fight coordinator and former world light heavyweight kickboxing champion. Born and raised in London, England, Daniels started to take martial arts lessons at th ...

as Derek, Paul's bodyguard * Sonia Couling-Vacharasinthu as Chris *James Wearing Smith (James With) as Zane *

Teerapat Sajakul Teerapat Sajakul ( th, ธีรภัทร์ สัจจกุล; RTGS: Thiraphat Satchakun), nickname Tui (), is a Thai actor and singer. He is also the chief executive for SEED 97.5 FM, one of the most popular radio stations run by MCOT. ...

as Police Captain * Sompob Benjathikul as Virote *

Jay Acovone Jay Acovone (born August 20, 1955) is an American actor. Among his most famous roles is Charles Kawalsky in the TV series Stargate SG-1. Personal life Acovone was born in New York City. His family later moved to Mahopac, New York where his par ...

as The Interrogator *Ronnie Reid as Agent Harry *Varintorn Yaroojjanont as Somchai *Wittaya Chaiseriwongsawang as Ray *Lynette Emond as Oh *Elina Loukas as Elena * Jan Yousagoon as Mei * Sakuntara Peakjuturat as Captain's Assistant * Paul-Dominique Vacharasinthu as Butler

Production

''A Stranger in Paradise'' was entirely filmed in Thailand with the film's official poster featuring a team of credited producers, emanating from Thailand and abroad; local production services were managed by Benetone Films, and the company website states the firm was an executive producer and a line producer for the film. Production companies collaborating on the film include 24/7 Films, Benetone Films, Hillin Entertainment, Tribus P Films (ex Marengo Films); Noalternative Films is cited as a distribution company in an alternative video with additional footage not shown in the official trailer.

Floods in Bangkok

It is stated that the production was Benetone's first investment into a Hollywood style of film-making and despite expressed nervousness from the producers, the production continued filming during heavy flooding impacting Bangkok, which occurred throughout October and November 2011, and in the same article Marengo Films is also quoted as an executive producer.

Release

The film had its world premiere on February 14, 2014.

Reception

Critical reception for ''A Stranger in Paradise'' has been predominantly negative. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' and ''

The Dissolve ''The Dissolve'' was a film review, news, and commentary website which was operated by Pitchfork and based in Chicago, Illinois. The site was focused on reviews, commentary, interviews, and news about contemporary and classic films.{{cite web, url ...

'' both panned the movie; the ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote "Besides the pedestrian caricatures of gangsters and strippers, Boccia doesn't make much of the inherent mystery and alienation of the Thai setting as

Nicolas Winding Refn Nicolas Winding Refn (; born 29 September 1970), also known as Jang, is a Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is known for his collaborations with Mads Mikkelsen, Tom Hardy and Ryan Gosling. He gained great success early in ...

did with "''

Only God Forgives ''Only God Forgives'' is a 2013 action film written and directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and starring Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Vithaya Pansringarm. The film was shot on location in Bangkok, Thailand, and, as with the director's ea ...

''." Even the twists late in the plot underwhelm."

Awards

''A Stranger in Paradise'' appears to have been recognised with an Honorable Award For Contribution to Thailand's International Film Industry in the Thailand International Film Destination Festival 2019 website.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stranger In Paradise, A (film) 2013 films 2013 thriller films American thriller films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films