The Railway Man

Last cultural event before my holiday was to go and see a film, the Railway Man, starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman. I liked this a lot, even though it is not exactly a jolly watch. Firth plays a man in late middle-age who cannot escape from the memories of being tortured by the Japanese in the War while being forced to work on the railway in Burma.

Its skillfully portrayed in the flashbacks to the War. You get a half-decent feel the awfulness without too much that is graphic (its only a 15 certificate) so you could survive this even if moderately squeamish. The main point of it is the battle between reconciliation/forgiveness and desire for revenge. Firth's character really wants the revenge, until he actually has the opportunity. The story works within two time frames as we are led through the man meeting and marrying Nicole Kidman in 1980 and coming to terms with his demons, and through the flashbacks the story is revealed of the fall of Singapore and the events that lead him to be tortured so badly. The latter was in part from building a radio (he being a radio engineer) but also because he had drawn a map of the railway. He couldn't convince his captors that this wasn't in order to provide information to the enemies of the Japanese, but just because he was a railway enthusiast. So British, so endearingly geeky. (You could tell he was a geek because he wore specs.)

The acting was very good, particularly I thought the young Lomas in the camp. What impressed was his bravery - effectively volunteering for what he knew would be brutal treatment rather than it falling on his comrades too - but why it was so convincing was that he was also so scared. Not an easy thing to convey in a film. This wasn't gung-ho fortitude, this was trembling fear, but perservering nonetheless.

It was all based on a true story. The slightly difficult bit for me at the end, and this says much for us as consumers, is that when you saw the photos of the real people they looked so disappointing compared to those in the film. Firth and Kidman are too young and attractive. Similarly the Japanese interrogator who turns up as a tour guide at the camp where once he had assisted in the torture of the young soldiers. All the other old soldiers seem genuinely old, but Firth alone just middle-aged. We want our heroes to be handsome/pretty. Old and ordinary are just not traits we will put up with on the Big Screen.