Paradise Road (1997)

The film is based on actual true events and was inspired by the reminisces of the actual women prisoners of war, many of whom became life-long friends after the ordeal. 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 .During WWII a group of women are captured by the Japanese and struggle to survive in brutal POW camp in the Far East . Their confinement is recounted in unsparing and harrowing detail , as Irish/British/Dutch/Jew women find themselves interned for the long duration . As orders from Nipponese Army Administration are strict as ¨Men and women will be imprisoned separately ¨ . ¨To avoid punishments and beatings , the ladies should presume themselves to endeavor , with passive behavior not negative¨. 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. Meanwhile, Adrienne suffering a surreal and brutal experience ; she is cruelly attacked ; however , she attempts to lift the spirits of the inmates and the brutalized women. Later on , she creates a choir , but the film refers to the singing prisoner of war women as a vocal orchestra rather than as a choir . This P.O.W film centers women prisoners as its principal cast and subjects with a theme of utilizing music to survive the horrors of war . The final credits state that the vocal orchestra performed over thirty works in the P.O.W camp . It discontinued performing though when about half of the members had died and the remaining survivors were not well enough to participate. The real-life first concert held by the women in the actual P.O.W camp was held on 27 December 1943 and the vocal orchestra performed over thirty works in the P.O.W camp during 1943 and 1944.¨Paradise road¨(1997) is a good film set in Singapur , directed by Bruce Beresford with an all- woman star-cast as Glenn Close as Adrienne Pargiter , Julianna Margulies as Topsy Merritt , Frances McDormand as a Jew doctor , Cate Blanchett as Susan Macarthy and Jennifer Ehle as Rosemary Leighton-Jones . And special mention to Clyde Kusatsu as cruel , brutal Sergeant Tomiashi, 'The Snake' . Interesting and strong drama , being perfectly adapted by the same director Bruce Beresford , David Giles (story) and Martin Meader (writing credits) , also producers . The film is based on the diaries, reminisces and testimonies of Helen Colijn and Betty Jeffrey as described in their books, "Song of Survival" and "White Coolies". No weakest in the cast and few in the movie , which presents the women's Japanese captors as human and inhuman at the same time with clashing cultures included . Clearly there's much longer plot in this, but director Bruce Beresford concentrates on the passionate acting of Glenn Close . It's a taut psychological drama about physical and emotional survival focusing on the tensions between Glenn Close, soldiers and camp commander well played by Stan Egi as cultured officer. Crammed with emotive moments , the picture has a string of committed performances from Glenn Close Pauline Collins , Jennifer Ehle , among others . Familiar ground is trod in this prisoner-of-war saga , but the thought-provoking story and magnificent acting help sustain interest. Colorful cinematography filmed on location in Marrickville, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia ,Penang ,Malaysia ,Port Douglas, Queensland, Raffles Hotel Singapore . Sensitive musical score , the music in the film was derived from the actual score transcripts used in the P.O.W camps which survived World War II. This superior though overlooked drama , is also laudable for a fairly portrayal of the enemy captors and being rightly directed by Bruce Beresford , this is the second war movie he directed , his first was Breaker Morant. Other films about women on concentration camps mistreated by Japanese military during WWII are the following : ¨Three came home¨1950 by Jean Negulesco with Claudette Cobert , Patrick Knowles , and Sussue Hayakawa ¨Women on valor¨(1986) by Buzz Kulik with Susan Sarandon , Kristy McNichol and Alberta Watson set in Philippines .

I have seen this movie many years earlier, and now I can say that this topic about women prison camp during WW2 has already been made some decades ago. Let me talk about them: FIVE GATES TO HELL, SEVEN WOMEN FROM HELL and also THREE CAME HOME. So this movie is not so new...But it is a very exquisite film that is worth viewing. The performances are outstanding. We can also think of BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KWAI. That's all I wanted to say about this feature. It's a shame that the director - Bruce Beresford - is not more known worldwide. He is a very effective film maker.But that's for another comment.

This movie is one of the very few made about female POWs of the Japanese in the Second World War. I feel that this subject has been hugely neglected by war historians in general and is a story that deserved to be told. Here there is no machismo, just the story of women enduring in the face of intolerable suffering and brutality. The acting is absolutely flawless and unlike some critics I do not think the story drags at some points. The wonderful opening sequence accompanied by the Elgar Concerto is riveting and exciting, and although some parts of this film are historically inaccurate, this pales into nothing compared to the wonderful sense of time, place and adversity.

One of the most bittersweet moments in film is when a vehicle meant to show off a fading but well established star becomes an unintentional tribute to a scorching young talent who arrives out of nowhere. PARADISE ROAD was meant to be a vehicle for Glenn Close, but when you watch it today it's only Cate Blanchett who really shines. Her character is meant to be quite minor -- the Australian farm girl who is punished by the Japanese for speaking out. The problem is, the camera catches all this beauty and strength and wit and resourcefulness in a girl who is only meant to be briefly interesting. Cate stops the film dead every time she is on the screen! The film is okay, but it would have been more interesting if one of the Japanese officers could have seduced Cate Blanchett and made her his mistress. Instead of having a punishment scene when Cate makes fun of the Japanese flag, I pictured her having to apologize personally to the commander, perhaps over a cup of tea. The thrill of having a real cup of tea after months of misery would be great to see on the face of Cate Blanchett. And of course her face could show suspicion and doubt and pleasure all at the same time -- Cate Blanchett is very talented. But her face would be showing her weakness for the pleasures she's missed, and soon she would be taking hot baths and wearing silk kimonos and slinking around the commander's hut like a real Australian geisha! That would be a lot more exciting than watching Glenn Close make like Mary Poppins for two hours. Or listening to Frances McDormand do a silly "German" accent. She sounds like Roseanne Barr doing Bela Lugosi! PARADISE ROAD is a so-so movie over all, but Cate Blanchett is thrilling even in her first film role.