SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

GazerRise Fantastic!

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!

Prismark10 I remember my mother and my aunt watching this film when I was a little boy late once night when it came on television. They seemed to have cried most of the way through the film. This is an image that sticks in my mind whenever this film is mentioned.Years later my mother told me how she lost some relatives in the second world war as they tried to escape from the Japanese in Burma by trying to walk ti to India. They apparently died of exhaustionA Town Like Alice adapted from the novel by Nevile Shute looks at a group of women as they shuffle from one Japanese camp to another during occupied Malaysia but no one would take them in. Slowly one by one they perish because of malnutrition, sickness, disease or exhaustion. During their journey they are accompanied by an old guard who slowly comes to respect them.During the journey Virginia McKenna meets Australian soldier Peter Finch also a prisoner of war but he does his best to help them out here and there and both fall for each other. However he faces severe punishment when he is found out for stealing some chickens.The film is told in flashback as McKenna goes back to Malaysia after the war and discovers what happened to Finch.This is a gritty and unromanticised view of life in occupied Far East, many years before films like Empire of the Sun. Also it is unusual for not being set in a prisoner of war camp, these people want to get there and stay there. The film company filmed in Malaysia and Australia for added authenticity.Look out for Jean Anderson, many years later she appeared in the BBC television series Tenko which was also women held in a prisoner of war camp in Malaysia.

athornley42 I have the movies "Three Came Home" and "Paradise Road". Both are great movies but when I found this movie I knew I had found something special! I have watched it several times since I got it about two weeks ago and I can't seem to get enough of this movie. Peter Finch and Virginia McKenna are wonderful and the chemistry between them is amazing. We certainly did not treat the Japanese or any of our prisoners of war the way our ours ( English,American,or any of our Allies)were treated. I will not tell about the movie, everyone else has, but I can tell you to buy this movie. You will not regret it you'll be so glad you did. Whoever put this movie on DVD thank you, thank you!

Jem Odewahn I've never read the novel upon which this film is based upon, but I'm interested in reading it now after seeing this very good film. Told in flashback, it's a WW2 drama with a difference, as we trade in the battlefields for the harrowing experiences of a group of English women who are forced on a Japanese death march through Malaya. It's a starkly realistic film, with many confronting scenes as the women have to drawn on every last emotional and physical reserve they have to survive. It feels so realistic and draws you into the storyline so much that when character after character succumbs to the awful trek it's like a knife through the heart. And when the women finally get to bathe after weeks of marching through the swamps, we feel their relief too. Virginia McKenna is the lead actress as young Jean Paget, and while McKenna may not be the world's greatest actress she's a good fit for the role, determined with a winning smile and warmth. The supporting actresses are colourful and each bring something different to the film. Peter Finch plays the Australian soldier Joe who falls for McKenna, and she for him. The "Alice" of the title is of course Alice Springs, NT, where Finch works on a station. Alice becomes a symbol of hope and comfort. He's charming and they have terrific chemistry together. I understand the ending is romanticized (but, hey, that's Hollywood for you!), but I liked it. Great cinematography and location shooting in Malaya and Australia (is this the first feature film to show the interior of Australia?), and strong direction from Australian Jack Lee

Jools-10 This film is in the same league as the series Tenko for it's realism. I have also watched the mini series which could have it's moments too but the film wins because of the fact that it was made around a decade after it had happened, when things must have been quite fresh in everyones minds. These women were taken captive as the men were but they were not wanted by anyone. These women were far away from home with no clothes apart from what they stood up in, no money and they didn't speak the language. Given those fact the thoughts are so scary!