An American Classic

Rating: 10/10 (2 March 2017)

Hacksaw Ridge is a 2016 film directed by Mel Gibson which marches the viewer in the gory Battle of Okinawa from the perspective of Desmond Doss, a Courageous war medic. While I have watched countless war films from the grave black and white In Harm's Way, to comical war scenes of Forrest Gump, Hacksaw Ridge trumps them all because of Mel Gibson unification of war with personal story allowing the viewer to relate a gigantic, incomprehensible war on a personal level. Because Gibson synergizes macroscopic and microscopic events, the macroscopic being the historic battle of Okinawa and the microscopic being the life and war efforts of the courageous medic, Desmond Doss, the viewer can be impacted by the film in a way that could never be accomplished in a documentary.
Gibson reveals details of Desmond Doss' adolescence at the start of the film to allow the viewer to connect emotionally to Doss, even though his adolescence does not directly pertain to the Okinawa War itself. The film begins with Desmond as a teenager fearlessly exploring the outdoors with his brother. As the two scale a bolder- covered mountain, Desmond's brother offers Desmond a hand up a large stone step up to reach the mountain's apex. Grinning, Desmond taps his brothers hand away, saying "I got it". In this first scene, Gibson builds enormous character into Desmond Doss. The viewer is not greeted by some generic, run of the mill, soldier on the battle field, he is greeted by a teenager, the age group of a heightened keenness towards uniqueness. The viewer is not presented with a Doss on the battle field, after he is forced by the army into a courageous mold, but is instead presented with a teenage Doss born to be born to be fearless, climbing to the highest ledge on the mountain peak, to dance along its crease, and born to be courageous, climbing to the top without a single helping hand from his older brother. Building details from Doss' youth in the first scenes allows Gibson to portray Doss as an easily relatable individual. Gibson also builds a sturdy foundation of Christianity into the Desmond Doss belief system. As a teenager, Desmond watches his drunk father beat his brother, while wheezing for another glass of whiskey. Desmond's brother collapses from physical and mental trauma. The camera pans from the front lawn where Desmond's older brother lay, to a tearing Desmond Doss in the kitchen, eyes affixed on brutal painting of Cain killing Able, with the bold red lettering underneath, "Thou Shal Not Kill", one of the Ten Commandments of the Lord. Doss prays to God. Later in the film, Desmond reveals that it was because of that painting, and watching his father nearly kill his brother, that he promised God to never touch a rifle, an incredible promise Desmond attempts to keep all through the war. The second object that Gibson reoccurring displays, to support Dosses appearance as a Christian, is a bible which Doss' Fiancé gifts to him through the window of his training camp bus, while saying good bye. "Keep it close to your heart", she reminds him. While the training camps other members read the Playboy Magazine other worldly material, Doss keeps his eyes on the bible, reading verses to himself every free moment. While ridiculed by his peers, Doss boldly continues reading and holding onto the bible until while fighting at Hacksaw ridge. The Hacksaw Ridge War Scene is brutally realistic, with blood, explosions, and death, each of which the average viewer cannot relate to. But when Gibson narrows the scope down to a war torn Doss, pleading too his carriers on a stretcher to find his bible where he had been wounded on the battle field, the scope of the battle is automatically put into perspective. The viewer, who is emotionally connected to Desmond Doss and understands his character, cannot reduce him to another soldier and must see him as the courageous, moral, and selfless individual, that Doss is. This perspective places invites the audience to ask, "What would I do in Doss' situation", a question that throws the viewer right beside Doss on his stretcher, begging with him for the bloodstained bible that he clung onto through his entire service in the cold bloody war. A war documentary's viewer-immersion-factor cannot compare to this Hacksaw Ridge's.
Finally, what makes Hacksaw Ridge a classic is not only how Gibson portrays Doss, but also the choice in choosing Doss to be the star of the film. The story of Doss is remarkable. When called by his commander at the war-front to retreat in battle, Doss hears his true calling from God to save the remaining men that were injured and abandoned on the field, positioned to be tortured by ruthless Japanese. Doss remains on Japanese territory alone, healing each injured Soldier he finds, including some injured Japanese, dragging them across the line of combat, into American Territory. Doss selflessly prays with each soldier he saves, "Lord, help me find one more" before running back into the devastated enemy terrain, until finding one more soldier and dragging them into American Territory. Doss, alone, saves 75 men, and without Doss' courageous actions, a mere 35 men would have returned from the week's fight. Desmond Doss' faith in God and bravery in the face of the worst danger is the inspiring plot that allows Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge to impact the masses.
Using details from Desmond Doss' adolescence, and displaying his character, Gibson connects the viewer emotionally to Doss, allowing the war which takes place around Doss to impact the viewer. Overall, Desmond Doss' actions leave the viewer with both a feeling of humility, longing to emulate the bravery of an American citizen nearly giving one's life to save many, and a feeling of courage, watching American demonstrate pure heroism. Hacksaw Ridge should remain an American classic forever.