Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageCity of Joy (1992)
Director: Roland Joffé
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
East and West learn from each other, and it's an interminable seminar. In Calcutta, the fortunes of rickshaw man Hasari (Puri) and American dropout doctor Max (Swayze) intertwine, but the acting styles are so divergent that they may as well be in different films. Max is selfish and suicidally sick of life, while Hasari has to fight for the daily bread to support his family; but Max learns how to care again after delivering a baby, while Hasari learns how to embrace American can-do and reject his Asian acceptance of the system. Together, they stand up to the razor-wielding bad guy (Malik). Presiding over the City of Joy school and clinic is Irish Joan (Collins), pushy, practical, and derived from other movies. It's very old-fashioned stuff, with the impoverished Indian slum-dwellers working like cheerful chipmunks to build a better clinic, and a climactic monsoon on hand to bring out the best in everybody.Author: BC
Cast & crew
Director: Roland Joffé
Producer: Jake Eberts, Roland Joffé
Cast: Patrick Swayze, Om Puri, Pauline Collins, Shabana Azmi, Ayesha Dharker, Santu Chowdhury, Imran Badsah Khan, Art Malik full cast
Duration: 135 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now