Paradise Road (1997)

Fact-based recounting of a group of women who are imprisoned on the island of Sumatra by the Japanese during World War II and used music as a relief to their misery.

Director:

Bruce Beresford

Writers:

David Giles (story), Martin Meader (story),

Stars:

Glenn Close, Frances McDormand, Pauline Collins

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Glenn Close	...	Adrienne Pargiter
Frances McDormand	...	Dr. Verstak
Pauline Collins	...	Daisy 'Margaret' Drummond
Cate Blanchett	...	Susan Macarthy
Jennifer Ehle	...	Rosemary Leighton-Jones
Julianna Margulies	...	Topsy Merritt
Wendy Hughes	...	Mrs. Dickson
Johanna ter Steege	...	Sister Wilhelminia (as Johanna Ter Steege)
Elizabeth Spriggs	...	Mrs. Roberts
Pamela Rabe	...	Mrs. Tippler
Clyde Kusatsu	...	Sergeant Tomiashi, 'The Snake'
Stan Egi	...	Captain Tanaka
David Chung	...	The Interpreter
Sab Shimono	...	Colonel Hirota
Penne Hackforth-Jones	...	Mrs. Pike

Storyline

The group of women from different countries and social levels are prisoners in a Japanese POW camp, where one of them, Adrienne, who is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, organizes a vocal band in spite of their guards resistance.

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Plot Keywords:

japanese | singapore | sumatra | prison camp | island | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for prisoner of war brutality and violence

Details

Country:

Australia USA

Language:

English Japanese Dutch Malay

Release Date:

11 April 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Estrada do Paraíso

Filming Locations:

Marrickville Town Hall, Marrickville, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$62,518 (USA) (11 April 1997)

Gross:

$1,921,471 (USA) (30 May 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Village Roadshow Pictures, Samson Productions, Planet Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min 114 min (FMC Library Print)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

From her memory, in the actual P.O.W camp, Margaret Dryburgh wrote down and arranged the music for the vocal orchestra from works by the likes of such composers as Ludwig van Beethoven, Frederick Chopin and Claude Debussy.

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Goofs

An early night scene of the women swimming ashore (set in the week after 10 February 1942) shows the full moon. The moon was between last quarter and new moon that week.

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Quotes

Topsy Merritt: You want me to give up food and soap and God knows what else, so I can starve and sing?

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Connections

References A Town Like Alice (1956)

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Soundtracks

"No.20, C minor"
from "24 Preludes, Op.28"
Written by Frédéric Chopin

User Reviews

Powerful

First class work here. The film follows a group of women captured in Asia by the Japanese, and interned as enemy aliens. It shows the inhuman brutality that the Japanese inflicted on anyone they considered to be of an inferior race. (i.e. not Japanese) (for that matter anyone not samurai) As a coping mechanism, and partially in defiance of their captors, the women form a vocal orchestra, playing the parts of classical music with only their voices. The music soothes the women, those in the orchestra, and those who aren't. The Japanese soldiers even come to enjoy the sound, and the atrocity rate drops a couple of notches.

Stand out performances abound here. In fact I can't really single out any of the cast. They were all good, including the Japanese actors. I had thought from the reviews that the music would be the largest part of the film, with just the backdrop of the prison camp, but it really wasn't. I recommend this film.