IMDb > City of Joy (1992)
City of Joy
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City of Joy (1992) More at IMDbPro »

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City of Joy (1992) -- text os
City of Joy (1992) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)

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Overview

User Rating:
5.9/10   2,208 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 13% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Dominique LaPierre (book)
Mark Medoff (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for City of Joy on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
15 April 1992 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
True heroism lies in the quality of the struggle. more
Plot:
Hazari Pal lives in a small village in Bihar, India, with his dad, mom, wife, Kamla, daughter, Amrita... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(6 articles)
Patrick Swayze: 1952-2009
 (From The Hollywood Interview. 24 September 2009, 6:03 PM, PDT)

Encore Pays Tribute To Patrick Swayze With Three Films
 (From ShockYa. 16 September 2009, 7:25 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Not like the book but a good story more (29 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Patrick Swayze ... Max Lowe

Om Puri ... Hazari Pal
Pauline Collins ... Joan Bethel

Shabana Azmi ... Kamla H. Pal

Ayesha Dharker ... Amrita H. Pal
Santu Chowdhury ... Shambu H. Pal
Imran Badsah Khan ... Manooj H. Pal
Art Malik ... Ashok Ghatak
Nabil Shaban ... Anouar
Debatosh Ghosh ... Ram Chander
Suneeta Sengupta ... Poomina
Mansi Upadhyay ... Meeta
Shyamanand Jalan ... Ghatak - Godfather
Shyamal Sengupta ... Gangooly - Con man
Rudraprasad Sengupta ... Chomotkar
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
La cité de la joie (France)
more
Runtime:
132 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Two assistant directors were accused of the murder of a local journalist who had worked for Ashok Dasgupta, editor of "Aaj Kal", one of the leading Indian newspapers. Dasgupta launched a series of personal attacks against the production, at one point even accusing Roland Joffe of making a porn film. Although it later transpired that the journalist in question had died of lung cancer, Dasgupta refused to withdraw his attacks, charging Joffe with paying off the autopsy physicians and police, and demanding that he hire two Indian crew members because they had insulted him. Joffe refused his demands. more
Quotes:
Hasari Pal: If the journey is not what you expected, do not be surprised. more
Movie Connections:

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
13 out of 14 people found the following comment useful.
Not like the book but a good story, 11 April 2006
8/10
Author: (82abhi@gmail.com) from United States

The movie is not bad. It is based on the book by the same name by Dominique Lapierre, and if my understanding is right has the author's blessings. The characters even have similar if not same names but it is not the same story. However it is true to the spirit in which the book was written.

Another interesting comparison with the book is that just like the movie, the book is as controversial, especially in India and among middle class Indians and Indians abroad. Indians do not like to speak about their slums to foreigners and do not like foreigners to speak about them by themselves. Rich and middle-class Indians who make about one-fourth of the country are the most influential people in the country and make the interlocutors with the Western world. I know because I am one of them. If our country is our home, this is a skeleton in our closet. And because there is a skeleton in our closet, we try not to step into it and do not let other and hate those who do step in when we are not looking. The controversy is an indication that lot stuff in the movie is actually worth seeing.

Also it is not unusual for a poor man in India to choose to die with dignity than live in shame, Indian girls do flirt even if it is 'untraditional' and there are people who try to live by exploiting the poor, people who most others will call cruel.

The movie could have done a better job capturing the fact that western ideas can affect the way some people in India behave just as Indian ideas make some westerners reformulate their ideas and concepts about life. We can see it here, but this is better captured in the book

So those who do not like the movie try to read the book and those who liked the movie will definitely enjoy the book. As for me, stories of the resilience of Indian slum dwellers only make me more proud to be an Indian.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (29 total)

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Only 5.9? sabyelvis
Patrick Swayze never forgotten lunaventure
Swayze done good. shneur
Burning Midget Travisrob77
Nice textures in many shots matt_powers
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