Paradise Road
Credits
Director & Writer : Bruce Beresford
Producer : Sue Miliken & Greg Coote
Executive Producer : Graham Burke & Andrew Yap
Co-executive Producer: David Giles & Martin Meader (story)
Graeme Rattigan
Diaries : Betty Jeffrey
Cinematographer : Peter James
Film Editor : Tim Wellburn
Production Designer : Herbert Pinter
Production Company : Village Roadshow Pictures, YTC Pictures Production in
associated with Planet Pictures
Art Director : Ian Gracie
Set Decorator : Brian Edmonds
Costume Designer : Terry Ryan
Music : Ross Edwards
Sound Mix : Dolby Digital
Country : Australia / USA
Release Date : Released in all country by 1997, specifically in U.S. by 11th
April, 1997, Australia by 5th June, 1997
Genre : Drama, War film, Women's film
Language : English, Japanese, Dutch, Cantonese, Malay
Rated : Australia (M), USA (R), Portugal (12 / M), Germany (12 w), Spain (13), UK (15), Sweden (15), Argentina (16),
Chile (18).
MPAA Rated : R for war and violence.
Film Length : 122 minutes
Colour : Colour
Alternative Scale : 3.5 out of 4
Cast
Glenn Close … Adrienne Pargiter
Cate Blanchett … Susan Macarthy
Pauline Collins … Daisy 'Margaret' Drummond
Frances McDormand … Dr. Verstak
Julianna Margulies … Topsy Merritt
Jennifer Ehle … Rosemary Leighton-Jones
Johanna ter Steege … Sister Wilhelminia
Wendy Hughes … Mrs.Dickson
Elizabeth Spriggs … Mrs.Roberts
Pamela Rabe … Mrs. Tippler
Penne Hackforth-Jones... Mrs. Pike
Pauline Chan … Wing
Clyde Kusatsu … Sergeant Tomiashi, 'The Snake'
Stan Egi … Captain Tanaka
Sab Shimono … Colonel Hirota
David Chung … The Interpreter
Full Cast
Lisa Hensley … Edna
Susie Porter … Oggi
Anita Hegh … Bett
Tessa Humphries … Celia Roberts
Lia Scallon … Mrs. O'Riordan
Marta Dusseldorp … Helen van Praagh
Marijke Mann … Mrs. Cronje
Aden Young … Bill Seary
Paul Bishop … Dennis Leighton-Jones
Stephen O'Rourke … William Pargiter
Vincent Ball … Mr. Dickson
Nicholas Hammond … Marty Merritt
Noel Ferrier … Robbie Roberts
Steven Grives … Westmacott
Robert Grubb … Colonel Downes
Arthur Dignam … Mr. Pike
Tanya Bird … Siobhan O'Riordan
Alwine Seinan … Millie
Kitty Clignett … Sister Anna
Shira Van Essen … Antoinetter van Praagh
Yoshi Adachi … Mr. Moto
Mitsu Sato … Rags
Taka Nagano … Boris
Koji Sasaki … Lefty
Julie Anthony … Female Vocalist
Geoffrey Ogden-Brown.. Band Leader
Jason Arden … Edgar
Kristine McAlister … Matron Heffernan
Jesse Rosenfeld … Danny Tippler
Philip Stork … Michael Tippler
John Elcock … Seaman Francis
Hamish Urquhart … Aran O'Riordan
Jemal Blattner … Older Aran O'Riordan
John Proper … Captain Murchison
Shigenori Ito … Dr. Mizushima
Geoff O'Halloran … Sailor
Chi Yuen Lee … Chinese Man
Ping Pan … Chinese Man
Box Office
In Australian Cinema, the rank of Paradise Road among the Australian's film is 62. The gross profit for the year is $AUD 2,970,653.
Reffering to : http://www.moviemarshal.com/idg-australianfilms.html
Interviews with directors and some protagonists.
There are limited interviews for Paradise Road; thus, I can only find some relevant interviews.
Bruce Beresford : http://www.moviemaker.com/issues/36/36_beresford.html
http://www.reelwest.com/magazine/archives/vol14_5/qa.htm
Glenn Close : http://www.whyy.org/flicks/GlennClose_interview.html
Wendy Hughs : http://www.alphalink.com.au/~pjh/a008hug.htm
Jennifer Ehle : http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Alley/4820/ehle_int.html
Julianna Margulies :http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/fulbourne/133/premiere.html
http://www.well-rounded.com/movies/reviews/margulies_intv.html
Review from webpage of newspaper or magazine
Some of the webpage require registration
http://www.mrqe.com/lookup?^Paradise%20Road
Box office magazine http://www.boxoff.com/scripts/fiw.dll?GetReview&where=Name&terms=PARADISE+ROA
Chicago Sun Times
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19970418/REVIEWS/704180307/1023
Film's online presence
There are quite a number of websites showing the information of Paradise Road
Referring to:
http://www.spiritualityhealth.com/newsh/items/moviereview/item_779.html
http://www.enquirer.com/columns/mcgurk/042597d_mm.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119859/
http://www.killermovies.com/p/paradiseroad/reviews/49s.html
http://www.cinemainfocus.com/Paradise%20Road_4.htm
Synopsis
Paradise Road is a modified story that is based on the existing incidents during World War II. There are British, Australian, Dutch and Chinese women who are imprisoned and brutally treated by Japanese soldiers in Sumatra. The cruelty of fact to them is struggling under starvation and without any medical salvage for malaria when they are in the war camp. By surviving under dominance of Japanese men's soldiers, women are not allowed to speak but to act submissive. Thus, they are forming a vocal orchestra, in which a space that they find a strength to live. The war reached its peak after three years and six months.
Plot
The story is set at 10th February, 1942, during World War II. It is in Singapore's Raffles Hotel, there is an event which is known as 'gala ball' for soldiers to have a gathering with their wives or girlfriends. A sudden explosion leads to changes of that moment. Soon, the soldiers are informed back to their units to defend the invasion from Japanese. Women are sent away in a boat named 'Prince Albert' to Australia, and were taken care by the Australian Army Nursing. On the board, a mixed-group of Australians, British and Americans are quarreling for small affairs. The precious friendship is found after the boat is attacked and bombed by Japanese airplanes. Some of the crew member died; in order to survive, some of them jump to the sea with their life jackets when the boat is sinking.
Three women are drifted on the sea until they reach to an island. The Australian girl names Susan Macarthy (Cate Blanchett), the English women are Adrienne Pargiter (Glenn Close) and Rosemary Leighton-Jones (Jennifer Ehle). After walking through the mud, they see a group of Japanese soldiers are passing by. The captain stopped by and they are invited into the car. They are brought to a place and they are impelled to gather in front of a Chinese temple with a man's head cut off from the corpse is hanging there, in which to warn them not to offend their command. They meet the other batch of women and all of them are brought to a concentration camp, in which those Japanese soldiers used to imprison their captives.
In the camp, women are provided little foods and brutally treated like a slave. It is during a lineup held by Captain Tanaka (Stan Egi) and Sergeant Tomiashi (Clyde Kusatsu); the military men showed their power over women's prisoners three times. The first incident is woman is not allowed to speak and interrupting when Japanese men are talking, or they will be slapped for punishment. Second incident is a Chinese lady, Wing (Pauline Chan) is caught for illegally trading with outsiders; she is burnt to death during the lineup. The last incident is punishment for Susan of kneeling with the barbed wire, and there are three stakes are placed in front and behind her. It will be considered she kills herself if she can not stand it. It is until they find the sustenance from music. Adrienne's instruction combines with Margaret's composition and that is how 'song of survival' comes into being.
Adrienne is innocent from guilty to hurt a Japanese soldier, so that she is tortured by exposure under hot sun, and they break her ribs. As witness from Susan, Margaret and Sister Wilhelminia (Johanna ter Steege), they release her from punishment and it is an opportunity they get to know Dr. Verstak (Frances McDormand). The first impression of an unfriendly German Doctor starts to befriend with them, and it is later find out that she was a psychologist but not a real doctor.
Within the three years and six months, the women are suffering from getting malaria, and it causes most of them die without medical salvage to cure their disease. After half of them have died, they are liberated at the end of the war by 14th August, 1945.
Music in film
There are original music and non-original music used in film.
Refer to: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0119859/fullcredits
Halen Colijn is the survivor from World War II, she wrote a book named 'Song of Survival', in which that includes some of the information that talks about the vocal orchestra and also her life is under suppressed by Japanese soldiers.
Refer to: http://www2.cruzio.com/~emanuels/sofs.html
http://www.whitecloudpress.com/cds/songcd.html
Critical Review
Paradise Road is a film that may conquer your mind. The authenticity of the film through beating, screaming, crying, killing and touching is persuasive enough to play around our emotions. The cruelty of Japanese soldiers provokes me by watching what they have done to the women. They defined women as 'shikibuta' (pig) in Japanese, as I found that Japanese man looked down on women. At the same time, it evokes the survivors from looking back what they experience during World War II.
I found Adrienne Pargiter as the main character that brings about the whole film to the pinnacle. From the beginning of the film when she dresses with golden gown in the ball, until she is captured to the war camp and dressed up like a beggar, her attitude and movement are still attractive, even though she is filmed without make up. The feeling of her being gorgon and witch in 101 Dalmatians is different. Sometimes, She is confused me with Meryl Streep (The Hours), because they look alike.
Instead of being upset and waiting for rescue, they found music has the intensity to unite them together. Perhaps, it may not success during the beginning. Indeed, with the cooperation of Adrienne's conduction and the brilliance of Margaret of composing the notes form classical song, they form a vocal orchestra. They started become best friend. They are trying to distract themselves from the states of affairs that they are suffering of by edification of music. Without any using of instruments, the original voices and they emote to the song, singing with moderate rhythm, it comes out the result of touching and a rush of motivation. Immediately, it becomes the transformation from depression to hopefulness.
Susan Macarthy is an Australian in the film as well as Cate Blanchett in real life. The incitement of striving after freedom is coming from her bravery and her persistence of woman's dignity. She is found guilty in the film for rising up her trembling voice and talk back to the Japanese officer. Her aggression does not find guilty in real life, it is because she has done a good job by endeavoring betterment for herself and her members. It brightens up the nobility and capability of Australian. The perception of 'being what you want to be' and 'persisting to the end' from her is engrafted to my principle in everyday life.
Critical Uptake
War is defined as conflict in the encyclopedia.
Referring to : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War
As the contrast between conflict and peace, weakness and power, freedom and internment, Paradise Road is a good film to be discussed. From the beginning of the film, there is a flashback picture of a tiger is hunt down. It manifests that specific power will be defeated sometimes. It verifies in the film that Japanese abuse the power when they first invade in the country. By showing off the men's dominance, women are being tortured, and because of racism, Japanese men look down on the ability of women from other races. Somehow, they are overwhelmed when Soviet Union makes use of the nuclear weapon to threaten and withdraw the Japanese. It is the time that the world back to normal and peaceful.
Ironically, the man's head that cut off and hanging in front of Chinese temple; I find it is trying to say that if human cannot help themselves, God is unable to offer help as well, especially when the circumstances is extremely unacceptable. Christianity is a religions that is included in the film. Sister Wilhelminia is considered safe in the camp compares with other women; it is because she works as a sister and she gains respect. Religion may be the encouraging tools to enlighten our soul in everyday life. Therefore, Sister Wilhelminia is accepted when she becomes the witness for Adrienne by explaining that she is not defending the Japanese soldiers for purpose. It is believed that religion suppose to be holy, respect and without lying.
The issue of death in Paradise Road is obvious. War and sickness caused death. Religion is also part of the essential to help people recover from sorrow. As Margaret being a former missionary to peace the spirit, she defines the way they are going to is a paradise road. The contrast between death and living in war time, it is noticeable that people will only get peace only when they are leaving from the conflict.
When the peace is taken away, when their freedom is exploited, what the women obtained during World War II is only imprisonment and internment.
Peace refers to : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace
Freedom refers to : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom
Friendship is the important element to join a bunch of unknown people together. The activity between friendships is based on co-operation, forgiveness, comprehension and love. In Paradise Road, painful and music join them together. Even though, they are some conflict between members, they find love between friendships. At first, Mrs. Robert (Elizabeth Spriggs) loves her dog more than herself, she ignores friendship. She even distinguishes the classes between friendships. After the incident, she knows that friendship is forever important.