The Railway Man

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Cicely

It always amazes me just how many more new stories people find to tell from the wars. This time a true story and perhaps more interesting, the aftermath of a survivor from a Japanese prisoner of war camp. The structure mirrors the story of Nicole Kidman's character trying to fill in the gaps of the past. We're often shown the beginning of a sequence and the end only to have the middle revealed later on where it will have more of a dramatic impact.

Not knowing the book or story it was based on, the revelations throughout the film worked quite well for me even if the manipulation was quite transparent. The cast are all great and it was a treat to have the director at the screening for a Q and A after.

The tragedy of war and the brutality of torture has been seen many times on screen before and it didn't make much of an impact here but probably more important and far more successful emotionally was the climax and message of reconciliation. In large part due to the performances of Colin Firth and Hiroyuki Sanada.

I could have done without the wall-to-wall score but otherwise a satisfying film.