Confession: I do everything I can to avoid war movies. it’s true. I am a complete wimp when it comes to anything that remotely compares to the reality of battle. I have good reason. With four kids serving in the military it is something I grapple with daily. The fear that something might happen to my beloved children is always buried in my subconscious. I do everything I can to suppress my anxieties but with 13 deployments under my military mom belt and more scheduled it is an ever-present weight on my heart. To compound that I spent a year living in Afghanistan and have experienced loss first hand so you can see how Disney and Hallmark movies tend to be my go to entertainment.
But when I was asked to prescreen the movie based on a WWII POW experience I did agree. Why? Because it told a story of forgiveness and redemption that gave me hope for my weary momma heart. Despite the tragedies of war, warriors can overcome the moral and psychological injures they endure. I can assure you that it is worth the time to watch this story despite the intensity and difficult subject matter.
Many of you probably have seen “Unbroken” the story of Louis Zamperini and his horrific internment in a Japanese POW camp. “Unbroken: The Path to Redemption “ is the story of how Louis became whole. After WWII many veterans came home with battle scars that could not be seen. Unlike today there were little options to deal with what we now call Post Traumatic Stress. As Louis grappled with alcohol self-medication and anger his life disintegrated to the place where his wife was ready to leave. But a life changing encounter with his faith and being able to forgive his captors finally released him from his self-imposed prison. He went on to live a life of service and established a camp for juvenile delinquents where he was able to impact generations of hurting young men.
In a time when we are surrounded by so many veterans bearing the same unseen scars after 17 years of war it was so encouraging to see a film filled with hope of lives changed for the good. The flashback war scenes were brutal but did not contain gratuitous violence. Although difficult to watch this “Disney mom” got through. At the end I felt privileged to see how much his life changed and that he could turn ashes into roses.
I will never look at the Milky Way the same way
For detailed information regarding showings and availability check out the website https://unbrokenfilm.com/
