Paradise Road (1997) on Netflix
When the Japanese take Singapore, women and children flee by boat and end up in a prison camp on Sumatra. Adrienne Pargiter and Daisy Drummond form a vocal orchestra there.
- Netflix2.8/5
- IMDb6.8/106,302 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes43%
Trailer
Plot summary
A dance at Raffles Hotel in Singapore is broken up when a bomb explodes outside and the Battle of Singapore arrives. The women and children are put on a boat, which Japanese planes bomb, and the passengers jump into the water. Adrienne Pargiter, a tea planter's wife, the model Rosemary Leighton-Jones and Susan Macarthy, an Australian nurse, swim to Sumatra. Captain Tanaka sends them first to a deserted village and then to a jungle camp, where English, American, Dutch and Australian women are held. There the prisoners bow to the officers and to the Japanese flag, labor in hard conditions and fall sick. Adrienne, who graduated from the Royal Academy of Music, and the missionary Daisy Drummond begin a vocal orchestra, though the Japanese forbid meetings.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Paradise Road (1997)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Fox was reluctant to cast Cate Blanchett in the lead of Paradise Road because she was relatively unknown at the time, but director Bruce Beresford insisted on her.
- The role of Dr Verstak was first offered to Anjelica Huston, who demanded a bigger share of the profits than the filmmakers were willing to give, so Frances McDormand was cast instead.
- The part of Margaret Drummond was to be played by Jean Simmons, who withdrew because of illness; the studio then wanted Joan Plowright, but she took another offer and Pauline Collins was cast.
- In the real events behind the story, twenty-two nurses were forced back into the water on Banka Island and shot by Japanese soldiers; Vivian Bullwinkel was the only one who survived.
