City of Joy
1992 · 132 min · Director: Roland Joffé
Show plot summary (may contain spoilers)
Independent of each other, the Pal family - parents Hazari and Kamla, and their three offspring Amrita, Shambu and Manooj - and Max Lowe arrive in Calcutta, their initial dealings there being less than positive. After losing their farm in the nearby countryside to the "money lender", the Pals are in the city in search of a better life, especially in wanting to build a dowry for Amrita who is now of marrying age. Max, a Houston based surgeon who fell into the career as a matter of family obligation, quit his job unable to cope with the emotional toll especially of losing patients, and has come to Calcutta in search of spiritual enlightenment. Their lives converge by chance in the slum neighborhood nicknamed the City of Joy, most specifically at the makeshift City of Joy Clinic and School opened and operated by Irishwoman Joy Bethel who came to Calcutta on a whim and never left. While the Pals eventual settle in the City of Joy, Joy herself tries to convince Max to provide his much needed medical services to the clinic, which he eventually but reluctantly agrees for as long as he is in Calcutta, which is longer than he may have originally planned if only in having troubles trying to get back to the US. In addition to some seeing Max as having no long term commitment to the neighborhood like the Pals who are now residents, two others issues in combination threaten the lives of those in the City of Joy, including Max, Joy and the Pals, and the livelihood of the clinic: the broadening of the services to include a nearby leper colony, some in the neighborhood who do not want to associate with them; and the control of the neighborhood by the corrupt Ghatak family - the patriarchal Godfather as he is referred to and his more violent son Ashok - who own much of the neighborhood property, own many of the neighborhood services (such as the rickshaw services, Hazari who has gotten a job as one of their rickshaw drivers) and who require "protection money" from other neighborhood businesses such as from the clinic to maintain the peace.
Emotional fingerprint
City of Joy (1992) — Movie. Top emotional signals: Empathy 30%, Sadness 25%, Inspiration 20%. Source: AI estimate. Shares describe emotional signal, not percentages of people. Your experience may differ. How we measure
- Empathy30%
- Sadness25%
- Inspiration20%
- Hope15%
- Anxiety10%
AI estimate · no viewer votes yet
How we measure
AI estimate
Share of emotional signal, not the percentage of people or a probability of enjoyment.
Each viewer contributes one response, split equally across their selected emotions. When available, an automated estimate supplies a prior that is blended with those responses. Counts include distinct viewers, not automated estimates or archived anonymous votes. Fewer than 3 viewers is an early estimate; more responses do not guarantee certainty.
Why it feels this way
The strongest emotional signals are Empathy, Sadness, Inspiration. Genres: Drama, Crime. AI estimate.
Is it worth watching?
Consider this title if you are looking for Empathy, Sadness and Inspiration. Its IMDb rating of 6.5/10 suggests a generally positive audience reception. For these leading emotions, its Feel Score is 67/100.
How did it make you feel?
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Pick up to three · 0/3
Emotional journey
- Empathy
- Hope
- Tension
Not enough subtitle evidence
No dominant emotion
Dominant emotion: Sadness
Dominant emotion: Empathy
Dominant emotion: Tension
Dominant emotion: Hope
Dominant emotion
| % | Approximate minute | Dominant emotion | Overall intensity | Empathy | Hope | Tension |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 % | ≈ 3′ | Sadness | 52 % | 50 % | 22 % | 33 % |
| 7.5 % | ≈ 10′ | Empathy | 49 % | 46 % | 16 % | 38 % |
| 12.5 % | ≈ 17′ | Empathy | 46 % | 43 % | 11 % | 39 % |
| 17.5 % | ≈ 23′ | Tension | 51 % | 45 % | 20 % | 36 % |
| 22.5 % | ≈ 30′ | Hope | 51 % | 45 % | 38 % | 26 % |
| 27.5 % | ≈ 36′ | Hope | 49 % | 43 % | 39 % | 31 % |
| 32.5 % | ≈ 43′ | Tension | 59 % | 46 % | 33 % | 55 % |
| 37.5 % | ≈ 50′ | Tension | 66 % | 50 % | 39 % | 59 % |
| 42.5 % | ≈ 56′ | Hope | 59 % | 48 % | 44 % | 43 % |
| 47.5 % | ≈ 63′ | Tension | 56 % | 45 % | 44 % | 45 % |
| 52.5 % | ≈ 69′ | Hope | 68 % | 50 % | 40 % | 63 % |
| 57.5 % | ≈ 76′ | Tension | 76 % | 61 % | 25 % | 66 % |
| 62.5 % | ≈ 83′ | Sadness | 71 % | 64 % | 20 % | 58 % |
| 67.5 % | ≈ 89′ | Tension | 63 % | 56 % | 28 % | 56 % |
| 72.5 % | ≈ 96′ | Tension | 61 % | 55 % | 33 % | 52 % |
| 77.5 % | ≈ 102′ | Sadness | 61 % | 55 % | 40 % | 43 % |
| 82.5 % | ≈ 109′ | Hope | 63 % | 53 % | 38 % | 50 % |
| 87.5 % | ≈ 116′ | Tension | 69 % | 59 % | 34 % | 57 % |
| 92.5 % | ≈ 122′ | Empathy | 71 % | 64 % | 50 % | 43 % |
| 97.5 % | ≈ 129′ | Hope | 70 % | 60 % | 63 % | 27 % |
Cinderella
Rags to riches: The emotional tone rises from negative to positive.
Riches to rags: The emotional tone falls from positive to negative.
Man in a hole: The tone falls, then recovers.
Icarus: The tone rises, then falls.
Cinderella: The tone rises, falls, then rises again.
Oedipus: The tone falls, rises, then falls again.
AI reading of the film’s English subtitles (dialogue and sound cues) — not viewer votes. How we measure ↗
Kadri — your film companion
AIAsk anything about City of Joy. From the film’s own dialogue and FeelDB data, at your spoiler level.
Afterward Reveal viewer responses · may contain spoilers
Viewer responses about feelings after the title ended, separate from feelings while watching. No AI estimates.
0 responses so far
Feeling details appear after at least 3 viewers respond, to protect privacy.
Cast
Kamla H. Pal
Amrita H. Pal
Anouar
Poomina
Ghatak - Godfather
Chomotkar
Ram Chander
Meeta
Details
- Directed by
- Roland Joffé
- Written by
- Mark Medoff, Dominique Lapierre
- Type
- Movies
- Released
- 1992
- Runtime
- 132 min
- Country
- France, United Kingdom
- Ratings
- Feels mostly
- Empathy
- Data updated
Where to watch
Rent
Feels similar
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