Weg aus der Hölle (1997)

A group of women who are imprisoned on the island of Sumatra by the Japanese during World War II use music as relieve their misery.

Director:

Bruce Beresford

Writers:

David Giles (story), Martin Meader (story)

Stars:

Glenn Close, Frances McDormand, Pauline Collins

1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Glenn Close	...	Adrienne Pargiter
Frances McDormand	...	Dr. Verstak
Pauline Collins	...	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	...	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.

---

Plot Keywords:

japanese | prison | island | singapore | prison camp | 

---

Genres:

Drama | History | War

---

Certificate:

12

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, Frédéric Chopin and Claude Debussy.

---

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.

---

Quotes

Mrs. Roberts: I really don't mind dying.

---

Connections

Spoofed in Chicken Run - Hennen rennen (2000)

---

Soundtracks

The Lullaby of Itsuki
Traditional
Performed by Clyde Kusatsu

User Reviews

Strong, moving testament

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.

Details

Country:

Australia USA

Language:

English Japanese Dutch Malay

Release Date:

20 November 1997 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Weg aus der Hölle

Filming Locations:

Trinity Inlet, Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$62,518, 13 April 1997

Gross USA:

$2,007,100

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,007,100

Company Credits

Production Co:

Samson Productions Pty. Ltd., Planet Pictures, YTC Motion Picture Investments

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min 114 min (FMC Library Print)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1