Emotion-evoking — it is a word that describes the film adaptation of Laura Hillenbrand’s book, “Unbroken.”
It cannot be described by only using words so singular such as captivating, although it is. Viewers feel every emotion as they watch the awe-striking story of Italian immigrant, United States Olympian and World War II veteran, Louis Zamperini who was played by Jack O’Connell
The story can be considered “in medias res” or starting off in the middle of action. Zamperini and his flight crew are in the midst of a bombing over a japanese island. As the bombing and fight continue, flashbacks reveal Zamperini’s past.
After Zamperini’s past is revealed, his crew’s plane crashes and he is stranded at sea for 47 days with two other men, Russell Allen “Phil” Phillips and Francis “Mac” McNamara.
On the 47th day, they were found by the Japanese Navy and taken to a temporary interrogation camp. However, Mac only made it about halfway through their time on the sea.
After being interrogated, starved and beaten, they were moved to two other camps. However, they were separated and did not see eachother again for their time in the camps. In the movie, Zamperini stayed at only three Prisoner-of-War (POW) camps, but in actuality, he was moved and shuffled between four different camps.
At the end of the action, Zamperini is seen running a leg of the Olympic Torch Relay at the XVIII Winter Olympics games in 1989. Text then appears telling how Zamperini visited all of his captors and forgave them. All captors met with him, except for the most brutal tormentor of the bunch: Mutsuhiro Watanabe who had his name placed in the Top 40 Most Wanted War Criminals.
Tears likely spilled from the eyes of viewers at multiple points in the movie. The film creates a picture of high respect for anyone who has been in a war, and especially those soldiers who were captured and became prisoners of war.
The fact that Zamperini was a runner, a soldier, a POW and an inspirational individual makes “Unbroken” appeal to all audiences and earns the film five out of five stars.
