Unbroken

This movie is the incredible true story of Louis Zamperini, a former Olympic athlete who experienced more trauma and hardship than anyone should ever have to endure.  After surviving a plane crash during World War II, he and two other survivors spend 47 days on a raft in the ocean before being captured by the Japanese and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp until the war is over.  Any of these experiences are enough to break a person, but “Louie” is remarkably resilient and is able to survive the ordeal.  I almost found it hard to even watch the scenes in the POW camp – the humiliation, the beatings and just seeing their spirit fade away the more they were subjected to over time.  I also wasn’t expecting to be so moved by the story of what has happened since the war ended and how he was able to eventually make peace with everything and even meet with the very people who held him captive.  As the movie said before the credits rolled, “Louie came to see that the way forward was not revenge, but forgiveness.”  And that is exactly what I was feeling after watching this very powerful movie.