A former British Army officer, who was tortured as a prisoner of war at a Japanese labor camp during World War II, discovers that the man responsible for much of his treatment is still alive... Read allA former British Army officer, who was tortured as a prisoner of war at a Japanese labor camp during World War II, discovers that the man responsible for much of his treatment is still alive and sets out to confront him.A former British Army officer, who was tortured as a prisoner of war at a Japanese labor camp during World War II, discovers that the man responsible for much of his treatment is still alive and sets out to confront him.
- Awards
- 7 wins & 20 nominations
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBridge where old Eric standing at the end of the movie is the famous Bridge on the River Kwai in Thailand.
- GoofsAfter the surrender of British forces in Singapore, the Union Flag is lowered, and the Nisshoki, or Hinomaru (red disk on a white field) is hoisted in its stead. However, as Singapore was being occupied by the Japanese military, and not, at this point, yet a part of the Japanese empire, the flag should have been the Kyokujitsu-ki, or 'Rising Sun' flag. The flags shown later, hanging from military vehicles, also Nisshoki, are correct, as Thailand had at this point been effectively annexed, and was now part of the Japanese Empire. The Thai-Japanese alliance was signed on December 21st, 1941.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Eric: [handing him a letter] Dear Mr. Nagase, the war has been over for many years. I have suffered much, but I know you have suffered, too. And you have been most courageous, and brave in working for reconciliation. While I cannot forget what happened in Kanchanaburi, I assure you of my total forgiveness. Sometime the hating has to stop.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Making of 'The Railway Man' (2013)
- SoundtracksIntroduction (Prelude) from Gadfly Suite
Performed by Ukraine National Symphony Orchestra and Theodore Kuchar (Conductor)
Composed by Dmitri Shostakovich (as D. Shostakovich)
Published by Native Tongue Publishing
Licensed Courtesy of Select Audio Visual Distribution on behalf of Naxos
The story is unique and interesting, and is told with a series of flashbacks to Eric Lomax, our protagonist's (Firth), experiences of WW2. As the film is set in fairly dreary locations (prison camps and drab apartments), it's not the most visually exciting thing to watch, and the edit/pacing leaves a bit to be desired - at several points, we find the present-day Eric Lomax (Firth) suddenly transported back to his POW camp in Asia without anything to clue us off as to whether he travelled there (a single plane shot would've done it) or, as in at least one case, is hallucinating.
Still, a good story and well acted by Firth with support from Nicole Kidman as his wife - although the real show-stealers are Jeremy Irvine as young Lomax, and Hiroyuki Sanada as Nagase, the Japanese translator and Lomax's tormentor.
- How long is The Railway Man?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Phía Sau Cuộc Chiến
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $18,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $4,438,438
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $61,845
- Apr 13, 2014
- Gross worldwide
- $24,174,885
- Runtime1 hour 56 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1