In the movie, Zamperini was established immediately as a professional runner, but what actually happened was “Some ninth-grade girls were organizing an interclass track meet, and “Louie was the only male who looked like he could run.” They sweet-talked him into participating, and he lumbered to last place in the race.” (Harris). It does not just come naturally, one must train to become such an enduring runner. Another reason that the movie cannot be fully trusted as historically accurate, is because most of the events that took place in the film were taken and modified from the main character’s autobiography. “ Louis Zamperini himself, however, wrote an autobiography with essentially the same events in 1956, when things were fresher in his mind—a mind that may well have been selective about what it remembered.” (Guttman). Recorded from other sources, Zamperini also battled alcoholism and experienced a form of post-traumatic stress disorder, but these details were also left out of the film (Ellis). Some events that took place in real life may not have been suitable to be portrayed in the movie, including rigorous torture, hard work, and little to no food being provided. Another detail removed from the movie includes medical testing. “Hillenbrand spares little detail in recounting two years of starvation, medical experiments, slave …show more content…
Most of the events in the movie aligned well with Zamperini’s explanations in his autobiography, and matched nicely with the book as well. Some aspects of events may have been slightly modified to withhold Zamperini’s heroic status, but most of the details were fairly accurate within the film. Many analysts believe that this movie was almost perfect with describing and showing viewers how it was like to live within Japanese territory as a prisoner of war, and how the prisoners were treated and abused. The movie also showed the will that many of the volunteer (and drafted) soldiers carried with them, and greatly improved the respect earned by many militants to this day. It shows how American soldiers never give up, and even help other comrades keep their sanity, while facing the hardships and mental struggles that war