Released in Italy in 2015 (although the film is 2014). Unbroken this is a feature film signed Angelina Jolie which airs tonight at 9pm on Iris. The film is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Laura Hillenbrand. Unbroken tells a true story Louis Zamperini a professional athlete who managed to survive 47 days on the high seas during World War II with a raft and the company of two other bombing survivors.
Unbroken, plot
Louis “Louis” ZamperiniJack O’Connell) is a young Italian-American who spent his childhood hiding from bullies who targeted him precisely because of his Italian heritage. Due to his speed and running ability, his brother Peter noticed (Alex Russell), Louis becomes an Olympic champion in athletics, even placing in the top ten at the Berlin Olympics. However, his life changes in 1943 when, during World War II, after an emergency landing, Louis is sent on a new mission in a plane that appears to be unfit for flight. And indeed, soon the plane’s engines fail and the plane crashes into the sea. Louis manages to survive along with the two Macs who traveled with him (Finn Wittrock) and Phil (Domhnall Gleeson). Thus begins an epic adventure on the high seas on inflatable rafts, in waters that make survivors easy prey for Japanese incursions.
The real story of the film
Cinema has always played a privileged role for those films that center on the story of extraordinary experiences bordering on the incredible; that is, those stories that can make people realize that sometimes the survival instinct is stronger than any challenge. This was recently demonstrated, for example, by the film Snow Society, film by J. A. Bayona, presented at the Venice Film Festival and telling the true story tragedy of the Andes, when sixteen survivors of a plane crash managed to survive for months amidst stellar temperatures, avalanches and cannibalism. Unbroken tells an equally incredible story, and it’s no surprise that it has found its way onto the big screen.
Louis Zamperini was born in 1917, as we read above. Screen Rant, Since childhood, he had problems with integration: he was the son of two Italian immigrants and had difficulty expressing himself in proper English, which often made him a victim of actual bullying. What saved him, however, was his sport: first boxing with his father, and then track and field, in which he was followed by his brother Pete, who helped him set a school record that remained active for about twenty years. Thanks to his abilities, he competed in the Berlin Olympics in the 1930s, and was then depicted alongside Hitler and Joseph Goebbels, two of the most negative figures of the entire twentieth century. And it was on this occasion that Zamperini gave an interview to the publication The newspaper “New York Times in which he said: “I was very naive about the world of politics and thought I found Hitler funny, like someone straight out of a Laurel and Hardy movie.”
During World War II, Zamperini enlisted in the United States Air Force, and on May 27, 1943, his life changed forever. During a rescue mission, along with eleven other men, Zamperini fell into the sea when the bomber he was on crashed. He managed to survive the disaster, as seen in the film. Unbrokenalong with two other soldiers. All three went adrift, and Zamperini was forced to contend with hunger and thirst, as well as the scorching touch of the scorching sun and the attacks of the sharks that inhabited the waters. As if 47 days of being on the loose weren’t enough, this man was also captured by the Japanese army and taken to prison campwhere he was tortured and forced into forced labor for two years, becoming a favorite target Matsuhiro Watanabe, known for his sadism and cruelty. Second IMDB, movie Unbroken skimps on the post-war consequences that Zamperini had to deal with: not only post-traumatic stress, but also constant nightmares about what he suffered in the war, which also caused his wife to distance herself and ask for a divorce. And it was at this moment that the man was able to find peace in his faith.
Unbroken and the memory of Angelina Jolie
InterviewedToday, Angelina Jolie was able to talk about her meeting with the real Louis Zamperini, who was present on the set during filming as much as his physical condition allowed. It was about her relationship with the former Olympic champion that the actress and director said: “He was a father, a friend… He was one of those people that when I was feeling down or when I felt like I wasn’t the right person to make this movie or I needed advice… it was Louis. I went. He was full of love for people, such a zest for life, and I don’t think I’ve ever met a man so funny in my life.” Angelina Jolie then spoke about what it meant for the real Zamparini to be able to see a film based on his life and explained: “He wanted this film to be a message to others, to remind them of what the human spirit is and how much we have inside of us.”
Unfortunately, as stated on the websiteInternet Movie DatabaseLouis “Louis” Zamparini did not get to see the finished film, as he died in July 2014 at the age of 97. Angelina Jolie, however, was able to bring him her computer and show him the first cut of the film, while Louis was already in the hospital and dying. Always in Today Angelina Jolie tearfully recalled that moment, the moment she saw an older man watching the movie of his life. “It was an honor to be with him at the end of his life.”