Plot
A former British Army officer who was tormented as a prisoner of war at a Japanese labor camp during World War II discover that the man responsible for much of his treatment is still alive and sets out to confront him.
Release Year: 2013
Rating: 7.3/10 (2,438 voted)
Critic's Score: 60/100
Director: Jonathan Teplitzky
Stars: Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Stellan Skarsgård
Storyline
Eric Lomax was one of thousands of Allied prisoners of war forced to work on the construction of the Thai/Burma railway during WW2. His experiences, after the secret radio he built to bring news and hope to his colleagues was discovered, left him traumatised and shut off from the world. Years later, he met Patti, a beautiful woman, on a train and fell in love. Patti was determined to rid Eric of his demons. Discovering that the young Japanese officer who haunted her husband was still alive, she faced a terrible decision. Should Eric be given a chance to confront his tormentor? Would she stand by him, whatever he did?
Writers: Frank Cottrell Boyce, Andy Paterson
Cast: Jeremy Irvine -
Young Eric
Colin Firth -
Eric
Stellan Skarsgård -
Finlay
Michael MacKenzie -
Sutton
Nicole Kidman -
Patti
Jeffrey Daunton -
Burton
Tanroh Ishida -
Young Nagase
Tom Stokes -
Withins
Bryan Probets -
Major York
Tom Hobbs -
Thorlby
Sam Reid -
Young Finlay
Akos Armont -
Jackson
Kitamoto Takato -
Japanese Officer
Keith Fleming -
Removal Man
Ben Aldridge -
Baliff
Filming Locations: Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Box Office Details
Budget: $26,000,000
(estimated)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia: Nicole Kidman felt intrigued to star in the film due to its theme of forgiveness. See more »
Goofs:
Kanchanaburi POW camp was not captured by American paratroops. The camp was liberated by British and Indian infantry after Japan had surrendered. See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 10/10
The Pacific theater of the second world war is often characterized by a
number of such decisive battle fields as Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, and
Okinawa. The Railway Man is a reminder of the madness of war that
reached beyond those well-known battle fields and the profound effects
it had on individuals who fought in the Southeast Asia region.
Colin Firth embodies the suffering of Eric Lomax, a veteran who still
experiences post-traumatic nightmares decades after the war. Nicole
Kidman plays his wife Patti with utmost grace and compassion, and
Stellan Skarsgård's portrayal is nothing short of perfection as he
plays the fellow veteran who is also torn by his friend's immeasurable
pain. Rounding out the strong performances is Hiroyuki Sanada's Nagase,
a former translator of the Imperial Japanese Army who took considerable
part in Eric's torture.
While the flashback scenes led by younger actors (Jeremy Irvine and
Tanroh Ishida) could use some improvements, the current post-war scenes
are recreated to near perfection with mature performances from the more
experienced cast members. It is also noteworthy that the film does not
hesitate for a moment to refute the wrong notion associated with
"tragedy of war," a term often misused to make a war sound as if it
were a mere chance event and not a product of malice. The film makes it
clear the pain inflicted upon Eric Lomax is nothing but an act of
crime, and from that accord comes an unusual relationship between two
former enemies that only a film based on a true account can deliver.
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