by CAROLINE GAVURA Section Editor
Do you know that feeling you get when you know the movie you’re about to see is going to be amazing? That’s how it felt sitting in the theater watching the opening scene of “Unbroken”.
I’ll admit it – I was first drawn to the movie knowing that there was going to be a lot of hot army guys, but by the end of the credits, I was bawling my eyes out.
I was pleased to see Jack O’Connell – whom I recognized (and LOVED) from his reoccurring role as James Cook on the UK version of “Skins” – playing the main role of Louis Zamperini.
I was also pleasantly surprised to see Finn Wittrock – also known as Dandy, the well-dressed serial killer, on “American Horror Story: Freak Show” – playing (beautifully!) Louis’ friend Mac.
“Unbroken” follows Louis Zamperini, an Italian immigrant, throughout his journey as an Olympic athlete turned member of the American Air Force.
If you ever thought you had bad luck, watching this movie will make you feel a whole lot better about yourself.
Even with his body in top condition, due to his Olympic training, it’s a miracle Zamperini made it out alive at the end of the war.
After the engines fail on a plane being used on a search and rescue mission (how ironic), Zamperini and his team crashed into the ocean on the outskirts of Japan.
Zamperini, along with two other survivors Phil and Mac, were stranded on a raft for 47 DAYS. During their ordeal, they had to deal with shark attacks, starvation, and bullets flying at them from enemy planes.
When he’s rescued by a JAPANESE SHIP, it’s not a surprise that Louis ends up in a prisoner-of-war camp for TWO YEARS.
Going into this, I knew it was going to be pretty brutal, and most of the time it was hard to watch the relentless beatings the Americans had to endure.
(It didn’t help that the cute old woman sitting behind me gasped EVERY TIME someone got hit in the face.)
It was worth it, though, to leave the theater feeling proud to be an American.
To hear the audience cheer as O’Connell lifted the heavy wooden plank over his head, recreating the iconic image plastered all over the movie theater’s walls, lifted my heart.
To be reminded that a lot of grandfathers and great-grandfathers have very similar stories to Zamperini left me in awe. It’s hard to even imagine going through the kinds of hardships that these amazing men have experience.
After sitting through the entirety of “Unbroken”, any kind of recognition that these honorable men have received just does not seem enough.
This Memorial Day, while enjoying a day off from school, I’ll take a moment to remember Zamperini and the other men who served in World War II, along with the men who are serving today.
I urge everyone to go out and see this movie. If you’re going to pay $8 to see something, make sure it’s “Unbroken”.
Have you seen “Unbroken”? What was your favorite part?