A powerful story of forgiveness

Many of us take forgiveness for granted, accepting and offering it without much thought. But what if we faced a truly horrifying wound? Could we then forgive?

The Railway Man is based on the true story of Eric Lomax, a former British Army officer who was tortured as a prisoner of war at a Japanese labor camp during World War II. The film begins years later, on a train, where Eric meets and falls in love with Patti (Nicole Kidman), a former nurse.

'Railway enthusiast': Eric (played wonderfully by Colin Firth) is a “railway enthusiast.” He knows and loves about everything there is to know about railways. He and Patti marry, and before long he is on the floor screaming, experiencing flashbacks from his experience in the war. But he won’t talk to Patti about it.

She goes to Eric’s friend Finlay (Stellan Skarsgard), who was with him in the labor camp, and he tells her what happened.

Death Railroad: The film flashes back repeatedly to that time, when a young Eric (Jeremy Irvine) and Finlay (Sam Reid) are captured in Singapore and forced to work on the Burma railroad (later known as the Death Railroad).

Eric builds a radio receiver, and when it’s discovered, he takes responsibility for it to save his fellow officers from being punished. He endures terrible torture (thus the R rating), which continues to haunt him years later.

Revenge?: Then Finlay learns that one of Eric’s tormentors is still alive. Finlay tells Eric, who decides to travel to Thailand to confront the man. Will he seek revenge? The tension when he finds him is enormous.

The film takes a while to get going, but once we’re in the labor camp, we’re hooked, even though the torture scenes are difficult to watch.

Firth is outstanding. This could be another Oscar-nominated performance. Kidman’s skills are mostly wasted, as her character does little more than look concerned.

Lust for vengeance: The kind of decision Eric must make is one few of us will ever face. The film ends up confronting our own lust for vengeance as we identify with this character. Though difficult to watch, the film provides a good vehicle for discussing what forgiveness means and how hard it can be.