Breathtaking, frightening, admiration, shock... so many words can be used to describe the experiences of Louis Zamperini. The 1936 Olympics in Berlin where he competed in track. WW II came along and by then he was in the Army Air Corps his bomber was shot down over the Pacific and for 47 days adrift in a life raft. A Japanese ship fished Zamperini and another crewman from the water and hurled them into a prisoner of war camp. How this man survived the physical and psychological sadism inflicted by his captors is beyond me. You feel every blow, every kick, every taunt by the camp commander. The emotional aspect of the film is hard to put into words... just go see it... and do not look away. Religion he was exposed to as a young boy with his family helped him to forgive his captors in later years. He ran in the Winter Olympics at Nagano when he was 80 years old, and even met with some of the former Japanese soliders who beat him... he forgave them. The former camp commander refused to see him though... either out of fear or embarrassment. The actor who portrayed Commander Wantanabe was chilling... not just the sudden outbursts of violence, but the subtle elements.... his soft voice and his finger nails were long enough to resemble those of a demon. I dont know if CGI was used to show the American POWs as they became skin and bones, or if there was a casting call for guys under 110 pounds... the physical look, even on the actor portraying Zamperini makes you think at times you are watching actual WW II documentary footage shot by the axis powers. Back to the 1936 Berlin games... Im glad a cartoonish, stereotypical image of Hitler was not used. The only way you knew where Zamperini was out of high school were a few swastika flags in the background at the stadium. That makes sense because other than the German Olympians of the time, all other athletes were focused on their game... not which politicians were in the reviewing stand. So, no image of Hitler was shown. Jessie Owens was shown briefly among the hundreds of athletes. That also added realism to me. America did not enter WW II, which began in 1939 till 1941. Before his death at age 97 in July 2014, Zamperini gave a great interview with CBS. Its a sorrow he did not get to see the final cut of the film. Unbroken was directed by Angelina Jolie, and I admit my opinion of her has changed. She has an eye for capturing the grit, the dirt, the pain and ultimate redemption. This is not a politically correct film... even the church elements, God, faith... all kept in real focus, is astounding. This film better win an Oscar for something. Much heart, truth, and courage went into making this movie. Its based on the 2010 book by Laura Hillenbrand. And if you cant respect our dwindling number of WW II veterans after seeing this movie, especially those who were POWs... I pity you... big time.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 01:40:49 +0000
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