During WWII, some 30 Dutch, British, and Australian women held for three and a half years in a Japanese P.O.W. camp in Sumatra banded together and formed a choir. With voice their only instrument, these women performed the intricate orchestral arrangements of Beethoven, Brahms, and Chopin, among others. This is their courageous story. Brought together again for the performance of their works by a choir in California, the women recall the horrors and infrequent joys of camp life. Under the inspired leadership of Margaret Dryburgh, the group's singing became the primary diversion for the women prisoners from December 1943 through early 1945, whose lives were otherwise filled with long hours of boredom and struggles with failing health. Following Dryburgh's death in April of '45, the choir-which by this time had lost 15 members to the fatal effects of malnutrition and disease-fell silent. Using historical footage, moving interviews, and absorbing narration, Song of Survival tells a little known human interest story, and tells it well. The film closes with the modern California choir singing Margaret Dryburgh's own composition "The Captive's Hymn"-a powerful moment both for the survivors who cherish her memory as well as for the viewing audience. Highly recommended. (See THE APPRENTICESHIP OF MORDECAI RICHLER for availability.)
Song Of Survival
(1985) 57 m. $59.95. Brighton Video. Home video rights only. Vol. 4, Issue 7
Song Of Survival
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