A former British Army officer, who was tormented as a prisoner of war at a Japanese labor camp during World War II, discovers that the man responsible for much of his treatment is still alive and sets out to confront him (www.imdb.com).
Director: Johnathan Teplitzky (Burning Man)
Starring: Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Stellan Skarsgard, Jeremy Irvine, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tanroh Ishida
The Railway Man is a mixed bag of emotions. On one side is the post-stress of a prisoner of war, and the family it effects. Eric's (Firth) ordeal (he became a POW, helping the Allied forces build the 'Death Railway') is hard to watch, with new found love for Patti (Kidman) bringing out his troubled psyche. On the other side is a psychological state that's hard to digest for those who cannot see what they cannot feel. Eric's worst state awakens only when Patti enters his life, not before. We don't get the chance to see his life prior to her arrival (it's explained through friend and fellow army-man Stellan Skarsgard). The acting isn't a shame, but the The Railway Man's is. Both Firth and Jeremy Irvine, who plays the younger Eric, are on fine form, as is Sanada and Ishida, who're the older and younger Takeshi, the man who tortures Eric. The Railway Man is insightful to all, whether you're keen on WW2 history or not. It's a cautious blend of fact and true story. What Eric will do to Takeshi, once he finds him, is the ultimate dilemma.
3/5
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