Matthew Steeples suggests Angelina Jolie’s ‘Unbroken’ provides a reminder of the power of the human spirit
On Tuesday night, I attended the London premiere of the forthcoming Angelina Jolie film Unbroken with Alexa Jago, the charming executive producer of Kajaki: The True Story. Though it was the stunning director – dressed in Ralph & Russo – who was the undoubted star of the night, this film undoubtedly will leave those that see it amazed by the fearlessness, fortitude and forgiveness shown by the main character in the face of the terrible adversities he faced.
Based on the book of the same title by the Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand and adapted by Ethan and Joel Cohen, the film tells the story of the Olympic athlete and war hero Louis “Louie” Zamperini (1917 – 2014). The story centres around Zamperini’s path to the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the 47 days he spent in a raft after the B-24 he was flying in crashed in the Pacific in 1947 and the years he spent in Japanese prisoner of war camps.
Undoubtedly given the full Hollywood treatment, the film no doubt will be criticised for factual and historical inaccuracies and whilst Derbyshire born actor Jack O’Connell excels as Zamperini, it is also the viciousness of his captor Mutsuhiro “The Bird” Watanabe (渡辺むつひろ) that also shines through in his portrayal by the Japanese singer Miyavi (also known as Takamasa Ishihara, 石原 貴雅).
“If you can take it, you can make it” is the guiding force of this epic film whilst “a moment of pain is worth a lifetime of glory” is the quote that sums it up best. Unbroken is well worth seeing and opens in the USA on the 25th December and the UK on 26th December.
Watch Unbroken’s trailer here:
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