Paradise Road
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Movie Reviews of Paradise Road
Movie Review: Music to melt the heart
Summary: 5 Stars
A chance viewing - the DVD is not yet available in Europe - and one of the most heartrending stories to come out of the Far Eastern sector of World War II; there have been many tales of derring-do and bravery among soldiers captured by the Japanese, but nothing to match the indomitable spirit of these innocent American women (and children) imprisoned after the fall of Singapore. Their "vocal orchestra" (NOT a chorus, as their director, played superbly by Glenn Close, insists), achieves the seemingly impossible task of transcribing over 30 works, including Dvorak's New World Symphony (we hear a condensed version of the slow movement with a modern Dutch chorus on the soundtrack) via the prodigious memory of one of the prisoners, a British missionary (Pauline Collins), and through their performances in the camp transform the violent relationship between captor and captive into something approaching a human understanding. Nothing is held back in portraying the initial brutality, which makes the contrast with the quiet and unquenchable optimism of the inmates (in spite of many differences of temperament and background) all the more stark.
A splendid supporting cast (Cate Blanchett, Frances McDormand); 2 hours of compelling viewing.
Movie Review: Women's Power in War-torn world
Summary: 5 Stars
The whole story is set in war-torn South-East-Asia during the attacking of the Japanese army.
The well-selected cast of actresses are giving this story a very sensitive nuance to understand the situation in the past and how women really show the way how to handle them. Men usually take weapons and try to attack the enemy with force, blood and terrorism.
But the women's way are far more better and their power to form a vocal choir in the prison camps shows their way to survive and even to attract the invaders.
The most touching point is the one when a Japanese soldier who accused a prison woman (played by fabulous Glen Close) tried to say Sorry to her when he sung a popular Japanese folk song far away from his subordinates.
This shows that soldiers are human too and they are also impressed about the women's power to survive by any means while the men prisoners from another camp tried to escape and returned dead.
The vocal songs are based on the original written papers which survived this time. And "Paradise Road" is still very actual in our today's time.
Highly recommendated.
Movie Review: True Stories Can Make Good Movies
Summary: 5 Stars
I collect movies very selectively. Paradise Road is a precious part of my collection. The capture of British and other foreign citizens during WWII is not often remembered as part of the saga of that dark conflict.
These women prisoners who created a voice symphony, not a choir, were incredible. They were brilliant and courageous. It takes brilliance to recall and score music from memory. It takes courage to stand up to your captors in order to create, practice and perform the music. The music helped them have the strength to keep going day after day while being starved, brutalized, ravaged with diseases, all the while watching those around you weaken, sicken and die. They continued until there just weren't enough voices to continue.
Glen Close gives a wonderful performance, as does Frances McDormand and so many of the then lesser known cast members now become famous.(Cate Blanchett, Julianna Margulies, etc.) I highly recommend it because it is a true story done well, and true stories can make good movies.
Movie Review: Paradise Road,
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a movie I saw and loved so much that I bought a copy, after telling friends about it, and loaning it the inevitable happend........I never got it back. So I bought another copy and yes, it's that good. When I first started to watch the movie, I thought about a Town Called Alice, and the forced marches the Japenese made POW's do so many times. But this is a story of survival, hope, determation and a lot of joy and sadness along the way. YET, it is not a sad movie and no it's not a "chick flick"will it brings tears? I hope so, you should cry when you see man's inhumanity to man in any way shape or form. But it's not depressing. This is a movie that somehow slipped through the cracks when it should have blazened across the airways. The acting- phenominal from everyone, the story- a true one- Inspriartional- made me want to make my life better. I could only rate this five stars, it deserves at least 100 stars.Movie Review: Understanding the Pain
Summary: 5 Stars
My mother was in a similar prison camp, therefor I it was important to me to see this movie. She had told me many stories of her time in the camps. When I saw this movie it was the first time that I could visually see and really understand her pain and the torture she endured. I feel it is important for the world to understand this side of the war. Very view people are aware of it. Glenn Close does a wonderful job getting this story across.