unbroken Archives - Cinema Forensic

My Ratings: 4.2/5.

The Imitation Game, Wild, American Sniper, Mr.Turner, Big Eyes, Foxcatcher, Unbroken, The Theory Of Every Thing, Fury, Kill The Messenger – and among these never-ending list of biographies produced in 2014, Selma turns out to be the one with the most impact.

The film Selma vividly depicts the unfortunate times when equality and respect in the society depended on one’s race and color.

Presently with a Black President behind the desk it is hard for us to imagine the amount of sacrifice and torment the Black community of United States went through in the past, the sacrifice they had to make just to claim their basic rights as a citizen.

But then again, it was the time to change the course of history forever.

It was 1965 and Martin Luther King leaded the epic march from Selma to Montgomery (Alabama), a nonviolent protest demanding for the right-to-vote for all black men and women in the country.

While under the orders of George Wallace (the then Governor of Alabama) countless innocent men and women (of all ages) were harassed, brutally beaten and even murdered but that didn’t stop Martin Luther King from keep demanding his rights (peacefully though).

President Lyndon Johnson finally had to give in and it was victory – a victory of both equality and humanity.

The film Selma directed by Ava DuVernay brilliantly manages to portray the emotions and sentiments of the people who fought for what they believed was right.

And such a powerful film is evidently backed by some outstanding performances – David Oyelowo (as King, he is simply brilliant), Carmen Ejogo, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Wilkinson, Giovanni Ribisi, Tim Roth and others.

Selma with four Golden Globe Award nominations (won for Best Original Song) was also nominated for Best Picture and won Best Original Song at the Oscars this year.

A film that will undoubtedly touch your heart. Watch it.

My Ratings: 2.5/5.

Here comes the first review of 2015; a war drama, an epic tale of survival, a journey of a man through tremendous hardship and adversities and yet his soul remains unbroken!

Yes, the film Unbroken desperately tries to portray Louis “Louie” Zamperini‘s extraordinary life, especially focused on his adventures or rather misadventures while he was serving his country in the WWII.

Escaping death in a plane crash Louis Zamperini manages to stay alive in the middle of the sea for 47 days on a raft (without proper food and water) along with two of his fellow army men until finally the Japanese army rescues them. He was taken in captivity as a war prisoner, tortured and tormented till the war ended.

Based on Laura Hillenbrand‘s brilliantly written book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption the film also highlights Louis Zamperini’s fame and success as an athlete who represented USA in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany.

Directed by Angelina Jolie (her second feature as a director), and though the screenplay credit boasts of names like the Coen Brothers (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen), the film still falls short of my expectation.

First of all it’s a tad too stretched and then again the dramatic moments are not dramatic enough (if that makes any sense).

Good camera work by Roger Deakins though but the music doesn’t have much impact.

And also according to me the character graph of Zamperini doesn’t properly gets revealed in the end. He evidently suffers a lot but does anything change in him because of such intense struggle for survival? How does he cope with his normal life when it’s all over?

While watching Unbroken you can’t help but compare it with legendary films like The Bridge on the River Kwai and Life of Pi which again doesn’t particularly help the film.

But one thing that definitely needs to be appreciated is Jack O’Connell‘s excellent performance. He as the lead character is the body and soul of the film, and probably the only reason to watch Unbroken.

Hope 2015 gets better than this.

Cinema Forensic

Tag Archives: unbroken

Selma (2014)

Unbroken (2015)

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