We’re showing a few biopics of remarkable people this semester; the subject of this one, Louis Zamperini (O’Connell), isn’t so remarkable, but he’s the one to whom the most remarkable things have happened. He rose from poverty and obscurity to represent the United States in the 1936 Olympics in long distance running (then the youngest person to do so; he was 19), where he had a meeting with Adolf Hitler – and here we already have enough material for a biopic. But the bulk of the film comes afterwards: Zamperini joins the air force, rises through the ranks, is sent on a doomed mission where he crashes into the ocean, and survives 47 days at sea – enough material for a sequel. But the true bulk of the film occurs after this, with Zamperini captured by the Japanese and drawing on his utmost inner strength to survive their abuse.

Hollywood had been circling this subject for over fifty years when Angelina Jolie finally managed to get the movie made (starting filming months before Zamperini’s death, at the age of 97). She may have been influenced by Zamperini’s post-war career, as a motivational speaker. This is a motivational speech of a movie – less bad than it sounds, for given the story, what else could it be? Jolie has a hard time linking the separate sections (poverty, Olympics, war, sea, camps) together, but she’s rather good at placing us right there with the hero in each one of them.