The Railway Man (2013)

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.

Director:

Jonathan Teplitzky

Writers:

Frank Cottrell Boyce (screenplay), Andy Paterson (screenplay)

Stars:

Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Stellan Skarsgård

7 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeremy Irvine	...	Young Eric
Colin Firth	...	Eric
Stellan Skarsgård	...	Finlay
Nicole Kidman	...	Patti
Michael MacKenzie	...	Sutton
Jeffrey Daunton	...	Burton
Tanroh Ishida	...	Young Takeshi Nagase
Bryan Probets	...	Major York
Tom Stokes	...	Withins
Tom Hobbs	...	Thorlby
Sam Reid	...	Young Finlay
Akos Armont	...	Jackson
Takato Kitamoto	...	Japanese Officer
Keith Fleming	...	Removal Man
Ben Aldridge	...	Baliff

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?

---

Plot Keywords:

physical torture | pow camp | based on true story | reference to adolf hitler | japanese occupation | 

---

Taglines:

Revenge is never a straight line.

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance | War

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing prisoner of war violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stellan Skarsgård and Colin Firth also starred together in Mamma Mia! (2008)

---

Goofs

The young Lomax shows the map to the soldiers and explains they've been on the POW train for four days before heading west, yet young Lomax is still clearly clean shaven and has no sign of stubble or growth.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Eric: At the beginning of time, the clock struck one. A drop of dew, and the clock struck two. From the dew grew a tree, and the clock struck three. Then the tree made a door, and the clock struck four. Then man came alive, And the clock struck five. Count not, waste not, the hours of the clock. Behold I stand at the door and knock.

---

Connections

Referenced in Film 2018: Episode dated 17 December 2014 (2014)

---

Soundtracks

"Rasputin'
Performed by Sean Timms featuring Janine Baigent and Daniel Burgess
Composed by Frank Farian (as Farian), Fred Jay (as Jay) and George Reyam (as Reyam)
Published by Sony ATV Music Publishing
Licensed by Perfect Pitch Publishing on behalf of Timms Tunes

User Reviews

Life changing film

This is arguably one of the best WW2 films I have ever seen. There aren't many films that tell the story of the situation outside of Europe and this tells it brilliantly. Collin Firth portrays the emotional struggle of a man plagued by the war extremely well, and I was gripped from start to finish. I've been to Thailand and this was possibly why I was so affected by the film, but I thought it was extremely touching and thought provoking. The story affected me to the point of tears (as no other film has ever done). There is so much depth and beauty to the film and characters and I think it's a shame it hasn't been rated higher.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [United Kingdom] Official site [United States]

Country:

Switzerland UK Australia

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

23 May 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Railway Man

Filming Locations:

Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$61,845, 13 April 2014

Gross USA:

$4,438,438

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$24,174,885

Company Credits

Production Co:

Archer Street Productions, Latitude Media, Lionsgate UK

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1