Angelina Jolie Has Created A Masterful Film

Rating: 9/10 (16 January 2015)

This was a hard movie for me to watch as I'm not comfortable with cruelty either in person or in a picture. And this film was all about the harshness, the brutality, the enormous cruelty of the Japanese toward the American prisoners of war. It was also a movie about triumph – and not triumph of any one side in a war because I don't think there ever is a triumphant side, only destroyed and dead people left behind an outdated, barbaric way to solve issues – but about personal strength and triumph in the face enormous adversity, of beyond believe pain and misery, and the ability to go above and beyond all of it. Jolie pulled no punches in showing it all. The casting was spot on, the dialog was believable, the pace of the movie was right...in essence, there was nothing about this movie that wasn't exactly right. If there is any fairness in the world, this film and the people involved in it, both in front of and behind the camera, should be in for a whole lot of awards. Bottom line, if you're looking for a good movie, one you won't soon forget – especially in the knowledge that this is a true story – here is your opportunity. See it, by all means.