Paradise Road (1997) User Reviews

Lest We Forget

[puckstopper · 8/10 · 21 February 2005]

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.

A heartfelt, underrated work of art with some magnificent performances.

[Jen_UK · 7/10 · 12 January 2002]

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.

Powerful

[smatysia · 8/10 · 29 January 2001]

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.

Ethics reminder

[rominaferraro · 23 February 2004]

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.

An intense and haunting movie set in Sumatra about of the horrors of war

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 16 August 2012]

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 .

Paradise Road

[gpeevers · 7/10 · 25 April 2019]

Story of a Second World War Japanese prison camp for women. Based on actual events, the film tells the story of a group of women captured when their ship is sunk fleeing the invasion of Singapore.

The women form a vocal orchestra to raise their spirits and defy their captors. The film also explores the diversity (race, class, nationality) within the camp, and their coming together when they recognize common ground.

The scenes where the orchestra is performing are quite moving, and there are some good dramatic moments but overall it comes across as just another tale of the indomitable human spirit surviving in the face of adversity. It's certainly moving it just not substantially different from similarly told stories.

Great cast with Glenn Close, Frances McDormand, Cate Blanchett, Juliana Margulies and Pauline Collins.

Gripping and uplifting true story of women faced with indomitable odds.

[Maverick1962 · 9/10 · 9 January 2001]

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.

Good, but not great

[grantss · 7/10 · 1 December 2015]

Good, but not great.

Interesting story of survival, but it's not that original. There had been numerous WW2 POW / survival-through-unbearable-hardship movies before this, and this isn't that different from those.

Plus, writer-director Bruce Beresford pulls his punches with regard to Japanese atrocities in WW2 - the reality was a lot worse than the movie makes out.

Emotional and interesting nevertheless.

Good cast - Glenn Close, Frances McDormand, Cate Blanchett, Julianna Margulies, among others - and they all give solid performances.

An amazing film which deserves to be recognized

[kt_4eva · 9/10 · 10 January 2001]

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.

The Dangers Of Marketing

[Theo Robertson · 6/10 · 22 May 2003]

If asked who I thought what was the most barbaric regime of the 20th Century I would have no hesitation in saying the Imperial Japanese during the second world war . Hitler , Stalin and Mao murdered more people than the Japanese but they had misguided idealogy as a reason ( Not an excuse please note - A reason ) , there was no idealogy behind the Japanese atrocities . And PARADISE ROAD doesn`t mince about when portraying these atrocities . Not content with simply murdering a human being the guards make sure the prisoners suffer before and during death and it`s rather harrowing to watch. So why when this film was released did every single clip feature a female vocal orchestra ? This only takes up a small part of PARADISE ROAD which means that if anyone went to the cinema expecting to see an uplifting tale of women choirs they would be getting a severe shock . Likewise no one like myself who`s interested in the second world war would have wanted to see what they percieved was a feminist drama . The marketing men really shot themselves in the foot with this movie .

Take my advice : If you want to watch PARADISE ROAD solely for the music don`t bother . If you want a film that portrays the worst possible human behaviour don`t miss this

Blech.

[lakewoodlaura · 1/10 · 11 December 2021]

Great actresses, great story, but! Charactization is shallow and trite, dialogue is pedestrian. I was suffering long before the women were. Lots and lots of set mistakes-china and spoons in a concentration camp? Clean wimples for the nuns, after weeks of living in tropical filth? The three women introduce themselves to each other after spending at least 12 hours together? Chatting leisurely while cleaning a tropical latrine at close range? Unbearable. Had to turn it off. Maybe it redeemed itself.

Why isn't this film better known?

[srne · 10/10 · 2 July 2003]

I stumbled across this movie surfing TV channels late one night. I was drawn right into the plot, and thought it was an incredible story, incredibly well-told. It's a true story, which I previously did not know anything about, but should have. Both the story, itself, and the film, should be much, much better known. It is also one of Glenn Close's best performances. Her performance, and the film, itself, are absoultely gripping! If you like true-life stories that are extremely well-done, such as "We Were Soldiers," then this one is of a similar genre, but with the main characters being women.

At times wonderful; while other times dull 7/10

[The_Wood · 7/10 · 24 February 2002]

Paradise Road is a small enriching story based on the true events of Female P.O.W.'s captured by the Japanese. At times the film hits absolute notes of triumph -- making it truly great. Other times the film drags. It's also flawed because it has so many major characters -- you forget who is who.

Of the cast Glenn Close and Cate Blanchett come out looking the best -- while Frances McDormand and Julianna Margulies come off less then favorable.

Poor rendition of world war II pow camp life. Lame script

[ellethekitty · 4/10 · 6 December 2014]

As someone interested in history, I found this movie totally laughable. In fact, it was so bad I could barely laugh. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those people who require absolute authenticity in a movie just because it is based in history. After all, movies are dramas and dramas require dramatic license. But This script was so awkward, with the most unbelievable and contrived conversations and dialog. For instance, the women on detail doing work on the men's baths are not likely to be discussing penis size casually. The Japanese, who did commit atrocities, were not likely to have burned a woman alive for a small crime. Not because they were unaccustomed to cruelty, but because fuel was scarce. One dimensional characters, unsophisticated plot. In short, this movie had fake dialog, unbelievable premises, and was a waste of time. if you would like to see a good movie about POW life, Try Empire of the Sun. Even Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence had believable moments, despite its convoluted agendas. Everyone voted to give this movie an average of 6.8 stars must have been on the cast.

Reduced Shakespeare Company does Tenko

[inconstantreader · 18 May 2003]

'Paradise Road' is not the first time the story of European and Australian prisoners of the Japanese during WW2 has been told - there is a famous old movie of Neville Shute's 'A Town Like Alice' and the BBC's wonderful tv series, 'Tenko', from the early 1980s. Nevertheless there is certainly scope for this film, which tells the story of a group of largely upper class women who have to come to terms with captivity and brutality as a 'defeated race' and somehow survive the war. The particular twist to this film is the fact-based story of the choir a group of women started in one camp. In other ways, however, the story is practically identical to 'Tenko', only crammed into around 2 hours instead of 30. This means that the effect is very much like watching one of those Reduced Shakespeare Company shows that do the Complete Works of Shakespeare in one performance. Virtually nothing happens in Paradise Road that doesn't happen in Tenko - fair enough, since it is fact based, but you feel like you're watching whole episodes crammed into a single line and you find yourself desperate for more character development - you never find out, for example, who Glenn Close's character really _is_. Despite this, the acting is top-hole and the script-writing is quite sparky, while production values are for the most part extremely high - this is a very good looking film. And therein lies a problem. While the violence is not sanitised, the starvation is. The women in this film appear to have suffered no more ill effects after 3 years of captivity and hard labour than a healthy sun tan and fetching urchin-style crop. The fight-in-the-shower scene shows us an array of perfect bodies with no sores, sunburn, bruises, skin diseases etc. (Again, Tenko did this much better.) When some of the women are meant to be dying of starvation towards the end the idea that these healthy women are meant to be suffering is so laughable as to be more like amateur dramatics than professional movie making. In failing to give a sense of the struggle to survive that the real women went through, this film diminishes their courage and does not do them justice.

This film is watchable, however, and tells stories that need to be told. Watch it by all means - but 'Tenko' is now out on video, so get that next!

A movie showing the war crimes of Japan

[Chinesevil · 7/10 · 20 October 2021]

Very interesting movie with a musical heart and its soul suffering from what ignorant people can do during a war. Music unites people even in difficult moments.

Decent movie

[the-gossip-king · 7/10 · 27 April 2008]

Decent acting and decent story equals decent movie. The movie is about some women who have to survive in a Japanese war camp and find salvation when they create a choir. It is a heartwarming and true story that rocked me to the core. The acting was superb. Cate Blanchett was great in what must have been one of her earlier roles. Pauline Collins was great in a role that constantly reminded me of Shirley Valentine and Glenn Close was also very good as the leader of the choir. Frances McDormand was also very good. My only problem is that Glenn Close has been in so many American movies and shows I kept being reminded of them every time she spoke an impeccable English accent. She pulls it off but I would have chosen someone actually English. Overall a very good movie.

Moving moments - Put yourself in their place.

[JedaiBesk · 10/10 · 14 May 2003]

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.

great cast in story we've seen before

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 17 August 2013]

It's 1942 Singapore. Adrienne Pargiter (Glenn Close) joins the women and children evacuating from the approaching Japanese only to have their ship sunk. She and others swim ashore to Sumatra and imprisoned in an internment camp. As they face mounting brutal treatment, they decide to organize a choir.

There are a lot of great actresses here; Frances McDormand, Pauline Collins, Cate Blanchett, Julianna Margulies plus many many others. The different characters can get to be too numerous. However the main characters played by the better known actresses remain center stage. Ten years before, the stories would be shocking and ground breaking. After Schindler's List, that kind of inhumanity is no longer as shocking and it seemed that this movie held back the most shocking visuals. For example, when the woman gets burnt alive, we are barely allowed to see anything. The beatings were all stage crafted. They could have stage a more brutal vision.

Gripping WW II film based on a true story about a women's prison camp on Sumatra.

[btm1 · 10/10 · 10 March 2010]

Paradise Road is based on a true World War II story of a boat load of women and children fleeing the imminent Japanese occupation of the then British colony. The boat is sunk and survivors made it to the shore of an island that was already occupied by the Japanese military, where they are herded into a brutal prison camp. Brutal World War II prison camps have been portrayed before, but this story is unique because to keep their spirits up the women manage to organize an a capella vocal group that performs classical music for the prisoners. The camp officers and guards join the audience.

I disagree with critic Roger Ebert who found the story line to be less dramatic than it could have been. I found the story gripping from the opening scene of a British high society ball in Singapore in which the British elite expressed their prejudices about Japanese and their erroneous belief that the Japanese army will be no match for the British military. It lost interest only after the war's end was announced. The film ended at that point without going into what the camp was like during the 2 weeks after the Japanese surrendered but before the victors reached the camp.

All the cast performances were very strong. Many of the cast had important parts and all gave very strong credible performances. Glen Close was excellent in what I would call the lead role, the concert organizer and conductor.

Although the action takes place in 1942-1945, the film was made in 1997. The prejudices that existed in the 1942-45 period are included in the film, but the 1997 sensibilities are expressed in making the Japanese military roles multidimensional, rather than pure evil. The only sadist was the Japanese Captain who was a member of the Japanese equivalent of Nazi Germany's Gestapo.

Paradise Road.... From Hell to Eternity ***

[edwagreen · 7/10 · 23 August 2010]

Interesting but uneven tale of a variety of women captured by the British while fleeing Singapore during World War 11. They are taken to Sumatra and literally brutalized for the duration of th war.

Glenn Close leads an impressive cast.

The film becomes uneven when we see outrageous Japanese brutality followed by a scene of toleration as the women perform. Certainly, these barbaric Japanese lacked any form of compassion. By the next scene, the brutality is in full force.

The lame excuse given by the commander of their internment camp at the end of the war is certainly nothing with nothing.

It was interesting to see that a few of the women became prostitutes in a brothel for food and to escape the brutality.

Their forming of a choir was certainly their attempt at Singing for Time. (Remember the television holocaust film-Playing for Time?)

Good, but done before

[Bruce-12 · 5/10 · 22 April 2000]

A good production, but one which had been done before - better, I think - in 1981 with the multipart series Tenko. Many of the scenes and look of some of the characters were taken directly from Tenko, so it begs the question, why bother?

Surprisingly good

[ties · 8/10 · 12 July 2004]

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.

Insulting and self-righteous

[HotToastyRag · 2/10 · 6 February 2021]

The first twenty minutes of Paradise Road are very moving, and both my mom and I were reaching for our handkerchiefs to dab our eyes as the women were jumping from the sinking ship into the ocean, hoping to land in a lifeboat. However, after that emotional sequence, the movie went downhill and never resurfaced. It copies so much of Three Came Home, A Town Like Alice, and Playing for Time, it's downright shameful. To me, it's of no difference that this was also a true story; it's so similar to the previous three films, it should have been shelved with a recommendation instead for interested audiences to re-rent the earlier movies.

While living in Singapore in the middle of WWII, a group of women are suddenly forced to evacuate when Japanese troops invade the city. They pack their belongings and board a ship, but when Japanese planes attack and sink the ship, they jump into the water with life preservers around their necks. Three women drift away from the lifeboats and get left behind; after an eternity of bobbing around in the freezing water and waiting for the tide to carry them to land, and after they crawl their way through the mud and jungle terrain back to civilization, they get reunited with all the other women from the lifeboats. Does that sound unrealistic to you? If you don't like it now, you won't like the ridiculous lack of realism in the rest of the movie. Trust me. Turn it off now.

Once thrown in a Japanese prison camp, they're treated to daily showers surrounded by a bamboo enclosure, opportunities to grow gardens and eat their own produce, free reign to walk around the camp and socialize until lights out, and clear expectations of their behavior. Instead of being grateful for the treatment, they grumble about having to use their own feces for fertilizer, complain that they're not allowed to write anything down (why would this be necessary?), make insulting remarks in front of the guards about the Japanese flag, and literally get in fistfights with one another about using the last of the soap. Soap! Soap is a luxury. The mere fact that they were allowed to use it at all should have been cause to thank the guards, not disrespect them. Did these women not realize where they were? They were in a Japanese prison camp, not a girls' dormitory. They could have been captured, shot with a machine gun, burned, and buried - and no one would have been the wiser. Instead, they were kept alive and treated humanely for years. Where's the gratitude?

Are you ready to turn the movie off yet? If not, there's more. There's another plot point that's so outrageous, it's hard to believe it was true. Forbidden to create clubs or conduct religious services, the women instead decide to disobey all the rules and form a musical choir. "Do you think they'll give us instruments?" one incredibly stupid woman actually asks. She really thinks that the prison guards, who dump raw meat into the muddy street and watch as the women scrounge around for the best bits, will lend their prisoners different instruments so they can enjoy extra-curricular activities in the middle of a war? Why wasn't she executed for asking such a thing? I'm kidding, of course, but it really illustrates the absurdity of this entire film.

Most of the women join with enthusiasm, but a couple of smart women hang back because they know they could be killed if they're caught. "I think that's a risk worth taking," says choir director Glenn Close with a smug smirk on her face. Glenn Close is the only reason I rented this movie, but by the time it was halfway through, I wanted to smack that smug smirk off her face. If she was in a prison camp, she would be too exhausted to be so smug. She would not have the energy to bounce her hands as she conducted her singers. She wouldn't have the wherewithal to make exaggerated faces to them as if they were a choir of middle schoolers who couldn't remember the words. And she certainly wouldn't be so insanely happy that she'd grin from ear to ear and take a deep bow after the song!

Glenn's entire character was unrealistic - but then again, so was everyone else's. This self-righteous, absurd "war drama" is an insult to the real women who had to live through prison camps. Cate Blanchett's skin was continually scrubbed clean, Frances McDormand's German accent was extremely muddled, Elisabeth Spriggs would have collapsed from exhaustion or stress during the first week (and she would have lost a severe amount of weight after months of eating prison rations), Juliana Margolis wouldn't have continued to joke as if she were at summer camp, Jennifer Ehle would have continually beaten and raped if she paraded her body the way she did, Johanna ter Steege's nun's habit was pristinely white without a spot or wrinkle during the entire movie, Pauline Collins never broke or cracked her glasses, and Wendy Hughes's hair was always clean. I know I'm beating a dead horse here, but where were they again? They were in a prison camp! They should not have had filthy hair, filthy skin, filthy hands, gaunt faces, tired and stooped bodies, and defeat and fright in their eyes. And even if they did believe singing in a choir was worth getting killed over, they wouldn't have grinned from ear to ear while they did it. I'm talking to you, Glenn Close.

Kiddy warning: Due to violence and an upsetting scene involving an animal, I wouldn't let my kids watch this movie.

Totally Oscar worthy, totally ignored!!!

[PeachHamBeach · 10/10 · 12 October 2004]

POSSIBLE SPOILERS

I watch this movie every other year or even less often. It's best that way because it is such a beautiful, powerful, uplifting story of British, German American and Austrailian POWs struggling to survive the brutality of WWII in Japanese-occupied Sumatra. There are many horrific scenes, the death of a Chinese woman by fire, the head of a man on a stick in a village, and especially the torture of one Austrailian woman who made a terrible blunder by whispering while the Japanese soldiers were making a speech. The strong cast features Glenn Close (I think she was wonderful!!!), Julianna Marguilies, Cate Blanchett, Pauline Collins (a lovely performance), Frances McDormand and many other women whose names escape me. Their vocal orchestra was their way of trying to hold onto their spirits in the miserable conditions they were forced to live in. Even the women who eventually lost their will to live were an inspiration on film. I don't know what other versions of this story were brought to life on film, but in my mind, this beautiful film was worthy of Academy Awards galore!!! I give it an A+++++++!!!