I've grown weary of the SAE talk, so this is the first of two movie reviews I'll post today. Hope you like the diversion.
When this movie came out, I saw that the reviews were not that good, so I held off on seeing it. In the meantime, I read the book and was fascinated by the life of Louis Zamperini, so I checked out this movie over the weekend.
Unbroken is the true story of Louis Zamperni, who grew up on the wild side in Torrance, CA, and thanks to his brother, turned things around and become the most highly acclaimed high school track athlete in the U.S. He later starred at track for USC and won a spot on the 1936 U.S. Olympic team, running in the 5,000 meter race. After college, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps as an bombardier on a B-24 Liberator in the Pacific. On a rescue mission for another downed plane, his plane had engine problems and the crew had to ditch the plane in the Pacific. All but three men perished in the crash. Two of the three survived living in two small rubber life rafts for 46 days, nearly dying of thirst, hunger, sharks and a strafing by the Japanese. They were later captured and thrown into a Japanese prison camp. There, they met a brutally maniacal prison guard they called, "The Bird." The movie focuses a great deal on the horrific conditions the Allied soldiers were put through by the Japanese and in particular, the unrelenting mental abuse, beatings, torture, starvation and being worked to death at the hands of The Bird.
The movie ends with the conclusion of the war and Zamperini's return to civilian life. However, that is about 2/3 of the book and the remainder is about his life after returning to the U.S. He marries, has kids, has financial difficulty due to failed investments, falls into alcoholism and is obsessed with going back to Japan and killing the Bird. In an effort to save their marriage, his wife takes him to hear Billy Graham speak in L.A. and although he resists at first, the message gets to him and he turns his life around (again). He is able to put the past behind him, forgive The Bird, and dedicate his life to helping troubled youth who were very much like himself as a young man. He later goes back to Japan and carries the Olympic Torch in the Nagano Olympic Games past the spot where he was imprisoned.
This was a very inspirational book and movie about overcoming incredible odds, keeping strong and never giving up. I thought it was better than the critics gave it credit for and think it deserves at least 7 out of 10 Sooner Schooners.
When this movie came out, I saw that the reviews were not that good, so I held off on seeing it. In the meantime, I read the book and was fascinated by the life of Louis Zamperini, so I checked out this movie over the weekend.
Unbroken is the true story of Louis Zamperni, who grew up on the wild side in Torrance, CA, and thanks to his brother, turned things around and become the most highly acclaimed high school track athlete in the U.S. He later starred at track for USC and won a spot on the 1936 U.S. Olympic team, running in the 5,000 meter race. After college, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps as an bombardier on a B-24 Liberator in the Pacific. On a rescue mission for another downed plane, his plane had engine problems and the crew had to ditch the plane in the Pacific. All but three men perished in the crash. Two of the three survived living in two small rubber life rafts for 46 days, nearly dying of thirst, hunger, sharks and a strafing by the Japanese. They were later captured and thrown into a Japanese prison camp. There, they met a brutally maniacal prison guard they called, "The Bird." The movie focuses a great deal on the horrific conditions the Allied soldiers were put through by the Japanese and in particular, the unrelenting mental abuse, beatings, torture, starvation and being worked to death at the hands of The Bird.
The movie ends with the conclusion of the war and Zamperini's return to civilian life. However, that is about 2/3 of the book and the remainder is about his life after returning to the U.S. He marries, has kids, has financial difficulty due to failed investments, falls into alcoholism and is obsessed with going back to Japan and killing the Bird. In an effort to save their marriage, his wife takes him to hear Billy Graham speak in L.A. and although he resists at first, the message gets to him and he turns his life around (again). He is able to put the past behind him, forgive The Bird, and dedicate his life to helping troubled youth who were very much like himself as a young man. He later goes back to Japan and carries the Olympic Torch in the Nagano Olympic Games past the spot where he was imprisoned.
This was a very inspirational book and movie about overcoming incredible odds, keeping strong and never giving up. I thought it was better than the critics gave it credit for and think it deserves at least 7 out of 10 Sooner Schooners.
