Unbroken

Angelina Jolie's second directorial film. Another war film, this time about an Olympic runner who is fighting in WW2, gunned down and eventually rescued by the Japanese and held as a prisoner of war.

The hardest part of the film to follow is the 47 days spent on the raft as most of the film is done in silence. You can't take your eyes off of it because you have no idea what is going on if you do. The dialogue at times is so quiet that it is easy to miss huge chunks of vital information. On top of that, the way that this is filmed is in flashbacks so every now and then it will slip back to him as a child running, being beaten up or even him as an Olympian running. This approach has become something of a rather popular idea but does have the possibility of completely confusing you if you aren't giving it your undivided attention.

These type of films are ones that are meant to draw out the emotion within you, you are meant to cry, shake, scream or respond to it in some way. These are the types of movies that connect to humans, that show one person's art in a way that we can all understand. If you can watch this film and not show any emotion then you probably need to start talking to a therapist and get your heart checked by a doctor, just to make sure that you have one.

Jack O'Connell (300 Rise of an Empire) has been given a second chance by Jolie and he has grabbed it with both hands. Make up your own mind about his appearances in the TV series 'Skins' but 300 2 was not a good film and I don't think that anyone in their right mind believes that it was. Just to clarify- that film was reviewed on this blog either earlier in the year or last year so you can check out the review to try and understand my point of view if you so desire. Having seen that film I did not believe that it was the same person- the transformation was completely different and not because he was wearing more clothes.

When you start watching this film it almost feels like you are watching Chariots of Fire- the numerous scenes of him just running around and it is hard to stop yourself from humming Vangelis' theme behind the running. Nevertheless it is necessary to clear your mind of all the comparisons and allow yourself to not think of it as Chariots of Fire and as it's own film, telling a story about an Olympic runner. Clearing your mind will also help you to relate to the film. This man brought hope to everyone he served with and that deserves recognition.