Paradise Road

In 1985, the engrossing documentary Song of Survival (VL-9/89) told the incredible story of 30 Australian, British and Dutch women prisoners who for three and a half years lived in a POW camp in Sumatra. One woman, Margaret Dryburgh, organized the group into a choral orchestra, which sang a spirit-uplifting repertoire that included Brahms, Chopin and Beethoven. Their "song" was, in essence, the only beauty they were allowed amidst war, disease and death. Song of Survival truly captured those horrors and underscored the strength and courage of the human heart. Paradise Road, on the other hand, a letterboxed, beautifully filmed, fictionalized story, is more concerned with showing Glenn Close scene-chewing in the mists of malaria and malnutrition, and Frances McDormand (Fargo)--as a heavily-accented Jewish refugee--calling everyone "darling" in a very bad Marlena Dietrich impersonation. In fact, one wishes Close and McDormand would have escaped early on, so that the more restrained and moving performances of others--particularly Pauline Collins--could have been more appreciated. Still, like many "based on a true story" pictures, perhaps this will peak curiosity or renew interest in the real heroes as shown in Song of Survival (Janson Home Video, 800-9-JANSON). Optional. (N. Plympton)