Here's the IMDB blurb:
After a near-fatal plane crash in WWII, Olympian Louis Zamperini spends a harrowing 47 days in a raft with two fellow crewmen before he's caught by the Japanese navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp.That isn't too much to go on, is it? If any of you know much about WWII, you know that the Japanese prisoner-of-war camps were extremely cruel places to be. This is portrayed in several heart-wrenching scenes of Unbroken. The officer in charge of the camp, known to the prisoners as "the bird," was particularly awful. He'd call Louis his friend, then have the other prisoners beat him up. I think he was a bit psycho.
Anyhow. I loved this movie for everything! We could all connect with Louis just about right from the start of the movie, it showed the war camps in horrifying clarity, and I could feel the tension of waiting for a rescue with the men on the life rafts. The whole thing was wonderfully put together and it made me tear up (which is quite the accomplishment, even if I don't actually shed a tear).
The movie ended with a few sentences about what Louis Zamperini did in the rest of his life, after WWII. And let me tell you - that was the most incredible part of the entire story.
Think about this: you spend two hours watching a guy you really do care about getting beaten up and beaten up on top of the last beating up, then standing up and carrying on, getting to know other prisoners, getting hope waved in his face, staying strong despite horrible treatment, getting taunted and hit again by a psychotic officer. And he just keeps getting back up and keeping on going. Finally, the movie ends, and sentences come onto the screen complete with pictures of the real Louis Zamperini about how he has PTSD, but finally fulfilled his dream of running in the Olympics at some 80 years old as a torch bearer - in Japan. About how he went and met with all his Japanese captors, except the Bird, who was the only one who refused to see him. About how he got married. About how he decided that forgiveness was the way forward after the war, and not revenge.
Louis Zamperini, at age 80, ran a leg in the torch run for the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, not far from the POW camp where he'd been found |
Have you seen Unbroken? What did you think? Did it move you too? What was your favorite scene? Tell me in the comments!
I've heard it's a reeeally tough and emotional movie to sit through. I'm definitely curious BUT SCARED. xD I like tough gritty movies, but yes...I'm a scaredy cat. I cannot even imagine going through what this guy survived. 0_0
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by @ Paper Fury!
It is really emotional. It made me gasp and tear up and ugh. Feels. But it was really inspiring, in the end. It wasn't gory or anything - rated a nice PG-13. So you should watch it. :)
DeleteI've heard so many good things about this movie, but I haven't seen it yet. I'll have to keep an eye out for it. :) Also, I tagged you for The Infinity Dreams Award here: https://ascatteringoflight.wordpress.com/2015/04/20/the-infinity-dreams-award/
ReplyDeleteYes, do! It was really inspirational.
DeleteAw, thanks so much!