My son sprung me from “senior living” on Christmas day, and took me to see it.
I read the book as soon as it came out, and doubted that the movie would do it justice. My son hasn’t read the book, and asked if I thought he should. I told him that he should as soon as he could.
The movie stands on it’s own, but I doubt it was because of Jolie. I think the credit is due to the Coens, et al.
The movie hits the high points of the book, and does it well, but there is so much more that isn’t covered. I highly recommend reading the book after seeing the movie. I felt differently about Nagasaki and Hiroshima after doing so.
In what way? More against or more for?
Not to muddy the issue, but I always believed that the bombs saved millions of lives, both American and Japanese. And my father was then on a troopship in the Pacific, a young, fresh solider straight from Fort Dix boot camp, bound for Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of Japan.
I’d asked wifey to get me the book for Christmas, which she did (Neither of us “do” movies). I just got started on it this morning - it’s gonna be a good one.
My knees buckled reading that book. It was amazing. A truly great man.
There are some (including some in this forum) who think her direction of this film and the resulting product is a crime against humanity.
I doubt that it strays so far from the actual story that is unrecognizable, as some say.
Without having seen it yet, I am going to grant up front that the focus of various points in the movie may be more or less than what actually happened in reality or what was relayed in the book. But I would be willing to bet money it isn’t “unrecognizable trash”. It is just a fact of life that a movie can never, ever convey the richness of a book. It just cannot, in my opinion, if the book is well written.
For a good example of a travesty, waste of time, waste of money, and total conversion of a great book into an offensive, unrecognizable, unmitigated trash as a movie, refer to “The Monument Men”.
What was an interesting, great (and true story) was bastardized and Hollywoodized to the point it was indeed unrecognizable. That was a story that should have been told, because most people simply don’t know about it.
And “Unbroken” should be told to a wider audience as well. Most Americans are unaware of this man’s experiences, and I take my hat off to the author who wrote the book, and Angelina Jolie who spent a good deal of time and money to tell the story on film. But I will say that, even though I have not yet seen the movie, I will be astonished beyond words if it is “unrecognizable”.
It is a story of redemption that should be told, even if it isn’t told perfectly to everyone’s liking. I personally think that part of the book dealing with his postwar experiences is the most powerful part of the story, but given how much of the book is actually devoted to them, I don’t expect it to be the full focus, because his story lacks power without the context of the hardships he encountered.
It’s funny you wrote that about dropping the bombs. I am in the process of transcribing some letters home from my uncles to their sister.
One letter dated Aug 9, ‘45 he wrote: “The Japs are saying dropping the atomic bomb was inhumane. I probably agree with that. But they can quit any time, and that would be fine with me.”
I was surprised at his agreement in the inhumanity at first. Then I realized this guy had been slogging through the jungles for a year and a half, working in graves registration-collecting bodies from the mountains and from the beaches. He was often under fire. He had seen enough inhumanity. He was just ready to come home.