Louis Zamperini (1917ā2014) was a miracle of a man. He truly livedābetter, survivedāone of the greatest stories ever written. Nonfiction stories are written, too, you know. āIn your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of themā (Psalm 139:16). Some stories wake us up and remind us of this mouth-stopping truth. Louieās life could only have been born in the mind and heart of God.
A film opens today bringing Louieās epic story to the big screen. Itās based on Laura Hillenbrandās remarkable telling of Louieās extraordinary story, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption. Louieās life is a Lord of the Rings trilogy born in the flesh of one strong but feeble man. The Coen brothers (writers), Angelina Jolie (producer and director) and everyone else involved should be applauded for taking on a life as excruciating and inspiring as Louieās. It is a monumental taskāone too large for life, much less for a full-length feature film.
I wonāt offer any spoiler alerts, because I donāt believe this article will spoil anything for youāat least anything thatās not already suggested in the title (Unbroken: Survival. Resilience. Redemption.). In fact, having read Hillenbrandās book, I consider this an anti-spoilerālike reading up on the history and landmarks of Washington D.C. before you spend a week there. I believe youāll enjoy the film (and Louie) more knowing the full story, especially the pages not covered in Jolieās 137 minutes.
Worse Than World War II
Unbroken, the film, begins with the trouble-making son of Italian immigrants, chronicles his unlikely and meteoric rise to fame as an Olympian, displays some of the unspeakable horrors of war, and highlights the resilience and strength even weak men can have in the face of agonizing pain and unrelenting terror. What the film does will be intense and emotional enough to sober and inspire most of us. Violence, starvation and torture will even be too much for many. After a plane crash into the ocean, Louie and two fellow soldiers were trapped on a raft for 47 days before they were captured by the Japanese. The Birdāthe military officer who held and mercilessly tortured Louieāis rightly, if not inadequately, portrayed as an awful, sadistic villain and criminal. But there are worse horrors hidden in this edition of the story.
The movie simply doesnāt go low enough, and therefore cannot end high enough. If the worst things in life were war, torture and death, then the movie might have done Zamperini justice. Louie himself, though, would testify they are not. There are worse evils and worse fates facing all of usāthe darkness within each of us and the darkness we therefore deserve.
Fairy Tale or Horror Film?
Those who donāt read the story will miss the reality that Louie was actually a very broken manāhorribly broken by sin and then sweetly broken by God.
Shortly after his feet landed back on American soil, Louie went back with his family to his childhood home in California. They enjoyed food and conversation, unwrapping several years of unwrapped Christmas giftsāeverything seemed peaceful, almost normal. Then his sister Sylvia played a recording of Louieās voice that had been broadcast over public radio during the war. āTake it off! Take it off!ā Louie fell into a violent, screaming convulsionāa scene that would sadly mark most of his next several years.