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Paradise Road (1997) More at IMDbPro »

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40 comments in total

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25 out of 30 people found the following comment useful :-
Lest We Forget, 21 February 2005

Author: puckstopper from Melbourne, Australia

Paradise Road is based on the true story of women POWs in Sumatra during WWII. The film, for the most part, follows what really happened... with one glaring exception!

The incident that is prominently missing from Paradise Road is the Bangka Island massacre, which was one of the worst atrocities committed against women POWs during WWII and is an integral part of this story.

After their ship, The SS Vyner Brooke, was sunk, the survivors made for the nearest land which was Bangka Island. They came to shore in different places but a group of more than a hundred people ended up on Radji beach. The group consisted of 22 Australian Army nurses, some civilian men, women and children, and 30 British soldiers from another ship which had been sunk. The island was fully occupied by the Japanese and the group unanimously decided to give themselves up. The group leader set off to find someone to surrender to. The civilian women and children began walking towards the main town on the island. The 22 nurses remained behind with the men and the soldiers (many of whom were badly wounded), an elderly British woman also remained with her wounded husband.

When the group leader returned with a group of 20 Japanese, they ignored all requests for surrender. The Japanese shot and bayoneted the men, then ordered the 23 women to walk into the ocean. When they reached waist depth, the Japanese open fired with a machine gun and mowed the women down.

There was one survivor. One of the nurses, Vivian Bullwinkel, was shot through the side and survived by pretending to be dead. She hid in the jungle for 12 days, caring for a British soldier who had been bayoneted and left for dead (he later died). Eventually, she gave herself up and was re-united with the rest of the women in the prison camp in Muntok. When she told them what had happened on the beach and they quickly realised that they would all be killed if the Japanese learned there was a witness to the massacre. So they made a pact not to speak of it again until they were free.

Paradise Road is a fictional film based loosely on fact, not a documentary. Sometimes it is necessary to make changes to the real sequence of events in order for the film's structure and pacing to work. I do accept this and I would prefer to see a good film rather than a accurate one.

But in leaving out the massacre on the beach, the film does a disservice to these women. These women were aware, from the start of their internment, that the Japanese were capable of atrocities on a massive scale and that there was no safety in numbers. They lived in a constant state of fear that the Japanese would repeat such an act or learn that Vivian Bullwinkel had survived the massacre and kill them all.

Paradise Road tries to portray Japanese atrocities with a fictitious incident where a woman is set on fire (which did not really happen) but this does not compare to the scale of the 80 people massacred on Radji beach and the effect it had on the women in the camp. There were 32 Australian Army nurses in the camp and the women who died on the beach were their friends and colleagues. They were from the same unit and had nursed together for the first two years of the war. All their interactions with the Japanese guards were coloured by the knowledge that they had murdered 22 of their friends in cold blood.

Paradise Road is a very good movie and I suspect it will become the definitive film about female POWs during WWII. Which sadly means that the 22 women who were murdered on Radji beach will be lost from memory... and they deserve better than that.

If you want to learn more about the women POWs of Sumatra, I suggest you read "White Coolies: Australian Nurses Behind Enemy Lines," the diary kept by camp survivor Betty Jeffrey, or read the biography "Bullwinkel" by Norman G. Manners. There is also an excellent 1985 documentary called "Song of Survival", and a really tacky episode of "Willesee's Australians" that dramatises the story of Vivian Bullwinkel.

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17 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
A heartfelt, underrated work of art with some magnificent performances., 12 January 2002

Author: Jen_UK from England

Why didn't more people see this film? This is what makes it great:

As an ensemble piece it works wonderfully - the cast are truly magnificent. Glenn Close is fabulous as the 'central' character and most well known 'star', but she does not monopolise all the scenes and screen time. She blends in with what is a wonderful cast, and does so impeccably. Why she hasn't been given more kudos as an actress is beyond me - she is stunning.

The film worked perfectly because of what comes across as a genuine rapport between the female cast. Each actress brings a different element to the story - Jennifer Ehle is strong willed and beautiful, Julianna Marguilles fiesty and dominant, Pauline Collins has such a human quality which she conveys to perfection, Cate Blanchett portrays wonderfully a quiet woman with a rebellious side. All compliment and balance each other. The actresses succeed admirably in bringing to the fore the bond that grew between their real life inspirations for this story.

The direction is precise and the cinematogrpahy beautiful. Despite the bleak context, Japan still looks vibrant and colourful, full of life.

The score. I can't do justice to the score in words - the vocal orchestra formed by the women is just beautiful and poignant to listen to and really does need to be heard to be understood. Somehow the actresses manage to make the music symbolise their humanity and spirit. It works wonderfully.

Overall, this is a heartfelt film with a profound message of hope which runs all the way through it. 'Paradise Road' is one of those rare films which reminds you of the indestructible nature of the human spirit. I wish there were more films like this one, and I wish more people had have seen this film. In a word it's a gem.

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9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Strong, moving testament, 31 May 2004
Author: trpdean from New York, New York

I love this movie because I love the characterization of the women in it. I felt powerfully with the women, felt I knew them, felt complete identification with most of them.

I actually think it's hard to specify the actions and words that will make a character both realistic and sympathetic. Showing mere suffering won't do it. But here, Mr. Beresford has been able to stir such warm feelings (particularly toward the Roberts girl, the Glenn Close and Jennifer Ehle, her Dutch friend, and the Cate Blanchett characters). The romanticism, cheer and background of the Ehle character are particularly well drawn.

This is a far superior movie to 'Platoon', by the way - and a wonderful tribute to those who went through the awful 3.5 year ordeal.

Another thing I quite liked (these days) was to see a movie that did not attempt to make the Caucasians the moral villain relative to the other race depicted.

This is not a movie concerned with p.c. appearances - the Japanese are not shown as somehow merely "different", a difference we "simply cannot understand or judge" because of our different culture. Setting a woman on fire for bargaining for medicine for a sick elderly woman is brutality in any culture - and this movie does not attempt to minimize the moral wrong.

Bravo, Mr. Beresford.

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8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Ethics reminder, 23 February 2004
Author: rominaferraro (nenadeantes@gmail.com)

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

[SPOILER]

I caught this movie on cable when it had started maybe half an hour before. I hadn't watched it before because I thought it would be corny. It wasn't that bad, I think, but even if it were hideous, there was one scene that made the movie worthy: the one in which the Japanese commander sings to Close's character.

I read a text by Umberto Eco about ethics, in which he explained that you failed to respect others' rights when you don't see those others as equals, and this scene was the perfect example. It was beautiful and, at the same time, terrible to see that this man, who almost kills her in other circumstances, has the human need to be acknowledged and approved by her. It is beautiful and terrible to see how he can disrespect her human rights and at the same time respect her opinion so much. And you can see it in Close's face: the perplexity of recognizing for a moment her captor as a human being who is capable of terror and beauty. Eco was absolutely right: music is too human a skill; you cannot listen to somebody who sings and still regard him/her as something inferior. And yet the roles cannot change that easily. Hate becomes harder, but is there anyway.

The scene was very powerful for me, because it summarized a war too well: a chaos where everybody is dehumanized and everybody fights to be human again.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Gripping and uplifting true story of women faced with indomitable odds., 9 January 2001

Author: Anthony Lampert (a.lampert@btinternet.com) from Margate, Kent, England

This film gripped me from the opening scene in the hotel ballroom and prooved to be a class act right to the end. Director Bruce Beresford's track record includes Driving Miss Daisy, Tender Mercies and Breaker Morant, so Paradise Road came as a special treat, not realising at the time of viewing that he had directed these films. The realistic scenes of violence had a tremendous impact in contrast to some of the wonderful underplaying of the leading actresses, notably Glenn Close and Pauline Collins. The Japanese actors, although unknown to me were chillingly effective. I can only hope for more films of this calibre but alas they are few and far between.

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6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Moving moments - Put yourself in their place., 14 May 2003

Author: JedaiBesk from Corby, England

A little slow to start, but the plot picks up early in the film, and leaves you thinking about "What would you do in their position?" - not just the women internees, but also the Japanese Soldiers involved at the time. All are involved with their own emotions, as controlled from 'authorities' above them.

Based on a true event, you can watch this film and empathise with all of the characters (both 'Goodies' and 'Baddies'). You'll be left thinking very hard about the persons who 'did it' for real.

In the middle of the film, when the Vocal Orchestra perform Dvorak's "New World Symphony" without instruments, and at the end of the film, "Londonerry Air" (Oh Danny Boy), a box of tissues may be required accessories.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
An amazing film which deserves to be recognized, 10 January 2001

Author: kt_4eva from London, England

The film was both moving and heart warming. It shows the unbelievable story of a group of women surviving a PoW camp against all the odds. I found it hard to believe that anyone was made to live in the conditions they were put in and live to tell the story. The acting was excellent and i don't think this film has got the praise it deserves. It is made even more moving by the fact it is based on a true story.

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6 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Surprisingly good, 12 July 2004

Author: ties from the Netherlands

My grandmother and her three children (amongst which my mother) were in Japanese war-camps on Java in the Dutch Indies now Indonesia. In Holland we used to call this part of WWII the forgotten war as, for nearly 50 years the Dutch were only discussing the war in Europe and therefore many people were very pleased that this movie was created.

Several years after it's release I saw the movie today for the second time and, I found it surprisingly good. The music moved me and luckily it was not as sentimental as I thought I remembered.

Although the credits mention only Betty Jeffrey, I know that Paradise Road is also based on "Song of Survival" by Helen Colijn. Both Helen and Betty were in this camp. Betty Jeffrey's "White Coolies: Australian nurses behind enemy lines" is the other source for this movie.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Not what I expected...and more., 30 May 1999
Author: suzanne landis from Los Angeles

I happened upon this film on HBO while flipping channels. I became engrossed at the point where the women were taken to the internment camp. I had no interest whatsoever to see this film in the theaters because the subject matter seemed too depressing (and it is!), but it is so well acted and such an intense story, that I would highly recommend it.

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
It touched my heart in more ways than one., 8 March 2005

Author: joeestlinbm from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

If I was going to describe this movie in one word, the word would be atrocities.

I think men who are assigned to the seeing after of POW's, especially female POW's, are particularly inept, and not good for much else, and probably realizing this, and being angry about it, are experts through their anger, in the field of designing, and applying atrocities.

The courage, and resourcefulness, of these ladies was impeccable. Even when faced with what seemed to be the most dire of circumstances, they were able to maintain their digninty.

The music they created through the expertise of Glenn Close's character, was unique to say the least, and also enjoyed by their keepers, I believe to such an extent, that they were spared at least some of the indignities they would have had to suffered.

I've watched this movie several times, and although there are a few places where it seems to get a little slow, it is still a very enjoyable film, because these slow places are essential to the movie as a whole.

I couldn't write this without mentioning Frances McDormand. She is so versatile, and in this movie, she proves once again, that there's nothing she can't do!

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