Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

There are some feelings that can probably be better conveyed through a motion picture than a book, and this movie does a good job of capturing the fellowship, pride, and sense of urgency of being part of a B-24 crew; the fear and frustration of being stranded on a raft; and the hopelessness of being in Japanese POW camps. Of course, the movie could not contain all of the anecdotes and details that Laura Hillenbrand's 500-page book contained. The writers and director had to make choices of what to omit; and, in general they did well, but I am critical of the following omissions: 1. Zamperini was unbroken, but not unscarred. To me, what really made him unbroken was not just his ability to deal with torture and deprivation during the war, but his ability to overcome the emotional scars after the war. The movie skips over his emotional scars as though his ability to survive the war is what made him unbroken. 2. The movie had several examples of Zamperini being "unbroken" during his time on the raft and in captivity, but probably the definitive act of being unbroken was his holding a large wooden beam over his head in defiance of the Bird. The act of holding the beam for 37 minutes was impressive; but, for me, the defining wartime "unbroken" moment was described on page 210. Zamperini was ordered to run a race against a Japanese runner or else have all of the other captives punished. Louie did not intend to win the race, but he was motivated by months of humiliation as well as the captives' cheering. Louie won the race and took the beating that he knew was coming and considered it worth it. Because the movie showed the "race" against the Japanese runner in which Louie was defeated and humiliated, the race that he won should have been included as a more appropriate example of being "unbroken." 3. The movie attributed Zamperini's ability to forgive to his commitment to God, but it was more specific than that. Zamperini's scars led to depression and alcoholism and were ruining his marriage. He found peace through the Gospel of Jesus Christ (shared with him by Billy Graham) and this is what saved his marriage and enabled him to forgive his tormentors.