The Railway Man

Movie Title--  The Railway Man

Release Year--  2013

Running Year--  1 Hour and 56 Minutes

Director--  Jonathon Teplitzky

Cast--  Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Jeremy Irvine, Stellan Skarsgard, Michael Mackenzie, Jeffery Daunton, Tanroh Ishida, Sam Reid, Hiroyuki Sanada

A former British Officer that had fought and was tortured during WWII learns that the man that was responsible for most of his torment is still alive which sends him down a path to confront him.

Eric Lomax (Colin Firth) sees that his train is going to be late, so he diverts himself onto a different train and when he does, he meets Patti (Nicole Kidman).  After an awkward beginning, Eric becomes quite  taken with Patti and soon the two of them are married.  Once they are married, Patti witnesses Eric having flashbacks and asks him to share with her what happened to him during WWII.  Every time she asks about it, he changes the subject.  She decides that she needs to know what happened because she loves him so much and she wants to do anything she can to help him through his demons.  She goes to Eric's good friend Finlay (Stellan Skarsgard) and asks him to please tell him what happened to Eric during the war.  

Finlay reluctantly tells Patti about Eric's experience after their company surrendered to the Japanese.  He tells her that Eric helped to build a radio that they used to listen to what was happening with the Allie forces.  When the Japanese find the radio, Eric steps forward as the one responsible for it after one of his friends is badly beaten.  Soon, the Japanese are trying to get information from Eric and when they are not satisfied by the answers they are getting, they continue to torture him, punishing him worse and worse; the man responsible for most of the torture is Takashi Nagase (Tanroh Ishida).

Finlay learns that Nagase is still alive and tells Eric that he needs to be the one to take care of Nagase.  Eric is conflicted about what to do but soon it becomes clear that he has to face the demons he has been battling for years.

I enjoyed this film although I feel like the beginning was a little bit slow.  There were times when the story seemed slightly tedious but the acting is just fantastic.  Colin Firth did an excellent job in this film.  I really do think that he is the reason to see this film.  His performance commands the viewers attention.  I also thought that Jeremy Irvine's performance was absolutely captivating as well.  The two of them portrayed the younger and older version of the same man as if they were actually the same person at different stages in life which helps the progression of the film because it helps to make the feel of the film that much more real.

I think that this is a film that everyone should experience.  The ending is just wonderful and very touching.  Keep some tissues handy just in case and Don't Forget the Popcorn!