Introduction to Paradise Road

Hi All,

On Thursday you will be viewing Bruce Beresford’s Paradise Road.

This post features some different sources to develop context around the themes of the movie.

Understanding the context will make the movie more meaningful therefore enhancing your work.

Let’s get some background information on the second World War.

Below is a video that gives you a pretty decent overview of what happened and the reasons as to why.

Unlike most movies about the second world war, Paradise Road concerns itself specifically with The Pacific War. This link will give you a good idea of how the events of WWII all fit in. And here is a map of Sumatra if  geography isn’t your forte.

I know it’s poor form to use Wikipedia but this is a good visual representation of the Allies vs Axis.

Paradise Road is based on real events, we know this from the ‘bookends’ at the beginning and end of the film.
The movie is inspired by the recounts of  surviving female POWs, in particular the book White Coolies by Australian nurse Betty Jeffrey. Jeffrey kept a secret diary when she was help prisoner by the Japanese. The book went on to become a radio serial. See the link below to listen.

‘White Coolies’ radio serial

Trailer for Paradise Road

Can we make a connection of the happenings in the movie to today’s society?

Let’s look at the Declaration of Human Rights.

What rights have been abused?

Are these same rights abused today?

Paradise Road is a prime example of how characters can grow after they encounter conflict.

In Go Back To Where You Came From, we also witness character growth.

How has the conflict they have encountered in conjunction to their response affected the consequence of their personal development?

Go Back To Where You Came From, changed perceptions