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    The Railway Man

    Reviewed by
    pietroantoni@

    Everyone is pretty familiar with Bridge on the River Kwai, a tremendous film and to that end The Railway Man adds a personal touch and emotion as it is the true story of Eric Lomax, caught in that nightmare of that particular Japanese war camp and the building of that infamous railway line known as 'The Death Railway.' This in no way reveals what the film entails but is mere historical fact that happened in 1942. The film deals with present reality. This critically acclaimed film of terrible pain, suffering and injustice is based on the book of the real life ERIC LOMAX who died at age 93 in 2012, just before the release of the film. This is a story of such integrity made in the actual locations of those horrid Japanese war camps for true authenticity.

    But The Railway Man becomes much more than just a war story that very few have heard of. This superb film comes to show the very best and worst of human behaviour, touching us with such raw energy and emotion that we feel the pain. This is a movie that had to be made, so powerful are its various messages. One of these great truths or messages being simply that "sometimes the hating has to stop", which is no easy feat for the young men who endured the horror of war and the many who would have to endure the terror of WW II till their death.

    Ultimately, The Railway Man becomes a film not just of survival, if one survived the war at all, but moving forth to building some semblance of life that can sustain you. We witness that LOVE is such a potent tool in helping with this process. The film shows us extreme cruelty, the lifelong idea of revenge, but the healing power of love offers a bruised soul the compassion necessary to move forward and begin to heal. Ultimately this war drama ( shown in flashbacks ) turns into another direction when Eric Lomax perchance meets a woman on a Britsh Railway line.

    COLIN FIRTH as the older Eric Lomax proves again that he is not just a major star but an actor of such depth, an actor whose whose body language and very facial expressions can move one to tears. He is absolutely still in his prime. JEREMY IRVINE, a new young talent of exceptional range and beauty did such justice to the young Eric Lomax who goes to hell and back. The divine NICOLE KIDMAN might have been brought on board for star power, but hers is anything but the performance of some flighty star. In an understated performance that offered the gamut of emotions she becomes, as PATTI, the very glue that will hold everything together. I can't knock a single thing about this story.

    Eric Lomax, the man, must have been a very great individual. Not many could do what he did nor endure what was his fate, but more, as in any FAITH, he and the film show the power of forgiveness and the redemption that emanates from that tremendous capacity to show mercy and love.

    9
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    pietroantoni@  10.3.2015 age: 36-49 14,540 reviews

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