Paradise Road (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.

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Plot Keywords:

japanese | prison | island | singapore | prison camp | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The camp in this movie is not a P.O.W. camp because the inmates are not prisoners of war. It is an internment camp, where civilians are kept for no other reason than being of the wrong nationality. This happened, for instance, to Japanese civilians in the U.S. The AANS nurses were entitled to be treated as POW but the Japanese did not believe they were military.

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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

Sister Wilhelminia: [grabbing a bottle of whiskey] Well I'm a nun, not a saint!

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Connections

References Silent Cries (1993)

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Soundtracks

Londonderry Air
Traditional

User Reviews

Moving film

I found this a very moving film about a group of fairly ordinary people placed in extraordinary conditions. I found myself quite involved with all the acting and the story line. Here is a film filled with outstanding and understated performances about people's ideals and courage being tested.

As to this story having been told in 2 or 3 other movies, I find that to be an incredible comment. I didn't see anyone saying that there had already been about 100 movies about men fighting in World War II when "Saving Private Ryan" came out. It is time that the stories of these extraordinary women be told. Soldiers aren't the only ones to suffer and die in wars.

Details

Country:

Australia USA

Language:

English Japanese Dutch Malay

Release Date:

11 April 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Paradise Road

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