Set against the breathtaking beauty and horrifying poverty of Calcutta, India, CITY OF JOY follows American doctor Max Lowe (Patrick Swayze), who abandons his calling as a physician, and travels to India to search for meaning in his life. Attacked and robbed upon his arrival, he is taken to Joan (Pauline Collins), an Irish nun struggling to provide basic medical care for Calcutta's most overcrowded and impoverished slum, where the rich Godfather (Shyamanand Jalan) controls the rent and livelihood of the many families struggling to survive. Hasari Pal (Om Puri) and his family are new to the city and struggling to make enough money to survive. Shocked by the poverty surrounding him, Max refuses to be a bystander to the suffering, befriending Hasari and helping Joan to open a new clinic. A moving and electrifying portrait of poverty and repression being overcome by support and faith, Roland Joffe's CITY OF JOY features stunning footage of Calcutta and its citizens.