Description: Colin Firth portrays World War II prisoner of war survivor Eric Lomax, who years later attempted to reconcile with the past that haunted him by tracking down one of his Japanese captors. In the film, Nicole Kidman portrays his second wife Patti and Stellan Skarsgård portrays his best friend Finlay. Watch The Railway Man movie trailer for an overview of the movie's interpretation of the story, which was adapted from Lomax's book of the same name.
I've added the book to my wishlist, but I'm still processing the film version right now. All of the actors did an excellent job, and this is just one of the remarkable stories about survival in these camps and the effects that follow throughout the lives of the survivors.
With Memorial Day and the anniversary of D Day just past, the film may have carried extra impact for me as far as being eternally grateful for those men in service of their country.
Images of POWs from Japanese camps.
In 2011, I read Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, the story of Loui Zamperini, the Olympic runner/Army Air Corps bombardier, who survived horrific conditions in Japanese POW camps. (my review).Unbroken will also be released as a movie, possibly in December.
(duplicate post on my other blog)
I am looking forward to reading Unbroken later this year. Probably closer to the movie release date. Maybe.
ReplyDeleteI really want to see Railway Man. I only recently learned of the book, but now I want to read that too!
War films always have an emotional impact on me; I guess that's because my grandmother survived the WWII when the Japanese invaded our country and I'd heard some horror stories from her.
ReplyDeleteStill, I think we all have something to learn from the history. I'll have to check out that movie. Thanks for the review!!
War films always have an emotional impact on me; I guess that's because my grandmother survived the WWII when the Japanese invaded our country and I'd heard some horror stories from her.
ReplyDeleteStill, I think we all have something to learn from the history. I'll have to check out that movie. Thanks for the review!!
Wendy - I want to see Unbroken, and at the same time, I wonder if I will be able to stand it. I had to stop reading the book several times.
ReplyDeleteI want to read Railway Man, too, after seeing the film. I know that there are differences in the film version.
Melody - I agree that we have something to learn from history, and in the story of Eric Lomax, something to learn about forgiveness.
I have avoided this film because my Dad was one of those men in the picture, although he was in Korea rather than in Burma. The men who went to Burma were in the first detachment sent out from Singapore, those that went to Korea in the second. I am glad though that some attention is being given to their suffering because in the UK at least they tend to get forgotten in the concentration on the European war.
ReplyDeleteWhoa. I can certainly understand your not wanting to see the film! The POWs in the Asian war had a much higher rate of suicide post-war than those who were held in German camps. The brutality was unimaginable. That is why I don't think I can see the film of Unbroken, the details were so horrifying.
ReplyDelete