I recently saw the DVD “Railway Man” based on the true story of a British soldier serving in Asia during World War II. Colin Firth plays the older Eric Lomax, who was captured by the Japanese, endured horrendous torture, but survived. From that point on he is haunted by his treatment as a POW. Rotten Tomatoes reviewed this movie as being “understated to a fault.” In this case, I think that approach worked because the scenes involving the cruel and barbaric treatment of the captured soldiers were so forceful that the viewer needed directorial restraint in order to get those parts of the movie.
Although this is a movie about the horrors of war, it is also about reconciliation and forgiveness. I was expecting something along the lines of “The Bridge on the River Kwai.” This is a much more intense and personal movie.