|
|
14 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
TV movie equivalent of Tenko..., 25 Jan 2004
As an entertainment, Paradise Road is OK, hitting the requisite notes and having some good scenes/elements, but when measured against similar works, e.g. BBC's series Tenko, & films like Empire of the Sun and Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, it's severely lacking. This American/Australian co-production feels compromised- another reviewer here points to editing of the film, to the point it doesn't make sense- and this felt apparent concerning the demise of the Jennifer Ehle character. The film feels rushed and attempts to focus on too many characters, to the point where hardly any are represented- I'd have liked to have seen it slow down- it approaches cinema in a way more pertinent to the dreaded TV-movie. & it wastes such stellar talents as the gorgeous Cate Blanchett, Glenn Close, Frances McDormand & Pauline Collins. Though the lackings of an actor like then in vogue ER-star Julianna Margulies are more than apparent... Don't get me wrong, this story is fascinating and there really ought to be a representation of female experience during WWII- despite the similarities to Tenko, females and WWII/Japan have hardly been represented in contrast to the multiple male-centred films on the same theme. Perhaps this would have been more interesting written and directed by a female?????? The film feels like a bunch of stock characters and stock situations, efficiently ticked as they are given- the film starts off well, with the Fall of Singapore, but drifts into incomprehension as we focus on a few characters after their ship is sunk (the others are forgotten about till later- dodgy editing or lack of budget?). Things just happen- the dialogue is mostly dire, predicatble and stilted & there are too many characters to have a definite sense of chemistry. The cinematography is fine, the torture of Blanchett's character tied to bamboo or the smuggler girl set on fire are potent scenes that showcase the Japanese barbarity... But it all feels too stock- the characters who give up & die, the dog, the relationship with the Japanese guards- which develops into grudging admiration etc. There's a potentially great story for a film- after all, this is a true story- just tweaked for entertainment purposes. I'd have liked to have seen scenes from the future- the survivors as old women- or flashbacks to the past, that might explain why a character like Ehle's loved so much that she eventually gave up & died... Paradise Road is solid entertainment, if that's your bag of hammers, but no different to the masses of simplistic films that surfaced in the years after World War II. I'd recommend Spielberg's flawed adaptation of Empire of the Sun, which has stunning cinematography and potent performances from John Malkovich & Miranda Richardson. The most potent films of Japan/WWII remain for me Kon Ichikawa's The Burmese Harp and Fires of the Plain- the kind of film Paradise Road should have aspired to be...
|
![A Town Like Alice: Special Edition - Special Edition [1956] [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61LLGZmUBTL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
![The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas [DVD] [2008]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GwPW1A6cL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
![Michael Collins [DVD] [1996]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51G40XX8WCL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
![Empire Of The Sun - Special Edition [DVD] [1987]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31F7JPKTEML._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
![Tea With Mussolini [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5165TTDFXXL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
Make sure you always get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk 
With an Amazon.co.uk 
