Movie/Book Review: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Cover of the biography property of Random House Publishing Group. 

Wow, it's been a long time since I wrote last. Sorry about that. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas! I sure did.

During the holiday season there were a lot of topics that I half-heartedly wanted to write about, but none of them drove me to write. This morning I feel driven. It's like an annoying itch that will only go away once I put the words down.

Last night my family and I went to see "Unbroken." Not all of us were very excited to see it, because half of us had read the book, and the reviews were very mixed. Some of us had been wanting to see "Big Hero 6" or "Into the Woods" because their reviews were very very positive. But last night we just really wanted to see ANY movie, and we were all curious enough about "Unbroken" to agree on it and give it a shot.

Maybe it was just my low expectations, but I was very pleasantly surprised by how well-made it was. I assumed the bad reviews were because of bad acting or bad production or something, but I was so wrong. The acting was great, the production value was incredible, and I thought it was very true to the story. It was a longer movie than I expected, and it did a good job of taking the time to show Louis Zamperini surviving his trials during the war.

I recommend it to everyone, though be prepared for some gritty details they kept in. There were a couple things that made my stomach churn. It could have been worse, though. A blow-by-blow adaptation of the book would have been rated R.

So I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. However, I can see why some reviewers didn't like it, and I do have a foot in their camp.

The ending was such a disappointment. Beware of spoilers if you haven't read the book.

The movie does a brilliant job of showing Louis' war days, from when he's a bombardier to when he survives on the ocean to when he survives the POW camps. And it shows him becoming a great runner and going to the Olympics and all that. All those incidents are, of course, amazing. Louis Zamperini was an incredible person, and what he went through is almost unbelievable.

However, the movie ends when Louis comes home from war. To the average viewer who hadn't read the book, that would seem like an appropriate happy ending for a war-torn hero. But if you have read the book, then you know that coming home from the war was not his ultimate triumph! In fact, Louis was a mess when he came back from war. He had severe post-traumatic stress to the point that he was always yelling at his family, became withdrawn from society, almost ruined his marriage, and sunk into alcoholism for a long time. Yes he was strong and defiant and brave during all this war trials, but when he went home, he actually was pretty broken. So for me, who had read the book, having it end there just made me sad. It didn't give me a triumphant feeling at all.

The triumph of Louis's life was not that he got through the war. It was that he got through the consequences of the war, rose about the alcoholism and the anger and the depression, and actually turned his life over to God. He found peace in his heart through the Atonement, and he learned to forgive the captors who had ruined his life.

The book is one of the most incredible reads of my life. Laura Hillenbrand wrote the most detailed and interesting biography I've ever read, and she made sure that there was that overall theme of Louis rising above challenges and finding God in his life.

Angelina Jolie got the overcoming challenges part down okay, and her directional debut was much better than I expected. But her theme of Louis finding God and learning to forgive was glossed over in a text-on-screen epilogue, like P.S. Louis really did turn to God, but you don't get to see it. Oh and P.P.S. he also met with and forgave his captors, but you don't get to see that either.

Those were the parts I really wanted to see because they were what stunned me the most when I read the book. To have them just tacked onto the end was like a slap in the face.

I wish she had gone either direction--either making it a half hour longer to show us Louis' post-war problems and unbroken attitude in the end (yes, I would have happily sat through despite the fact that it was already a very long movie); or just cutting out the mentions of Louis dedicating his life to God. Obviously I wouldn't have liked it that way, either, but at least it wouldn't have felt so thrown together. Just saying in the end that he became faithful and positive almost confuses the audience, because there was nothing during his war years that showed him turning to God (except for that one time when he thought he was going to die on the ocean, but never again after that).

In conclusion, I really did like this movie. It was an amazing watch, and I recommend it to everybody who's seen the mixed reviews and isn't sure about it. Kudos to Angelina Jolie for doing as well as she did. I look forward to seeing what she'll do next. I just hope that next time she doesn't use a cop-out ending like this one.

However, I recommend reading the book first so that you can really get a feel for who Louis Zamperini was and what his unbroken spirit was really about.

Sunday Soliloquy: We Need a Little Christmas

During our morning scripture study, Sarah and I were talking about fasting and why we need to do it at least once a month. After reading several verses and talking about personal experiences, we concluded that fasting is a kind of magnified, extended prayer. 

Prayer is something we do (or should do) every morning and every evening, and really any time. But when we fast, we humble ourselves a little more. Every rumble of our empty bellies is like a reminder to pray and think about why you're fasting and what you're asking of the Lord. Rather than pray in the morning and then forget to pray again until evening, our hunger reminds us all day to have a prayer in our hearts. 

Christmas is like fasting.

You know the song, "We Need a Little Christmas"? I used to find it so annoying, but now it's one of my favorites.

Here are the lyrics, in case you're unfamiliar with it:

Haul out the holly;
Put up the tree before my spirit falls again.
Fill up the stocking,
I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now.

For we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute.
Candles in the window,
Carols at the spinet.
Yes we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute. 

It hasn't snowed a single flurry,
But Santa, dear, we're in a hurry. 

So climb down the chimney;
Put up the brightest string of lights I've ever seen.
Slice up the fruitcake;
It's time we hung some tinsel on that evergreen bough. 

For I've grown a little leaner,
Grown a little colder,
Grown a little sadder,
Grown a little older.
And I need a little angel
Sitting on my shoulder;
Need a little Christmas now!

It's a very cheerful melody. Very peppy. Which is why I never really liked it before--I tend to gravitate towards the somber, reverent Christmas songs.

But that last verse is as somber as they come even if the tune is upbeat, and it kind of encompasses everything I feel around the Christmas season. 

This week in Utah has been really sunny, but usually it's incredibly cold, cloudy, and miserable this time of year. Even though we now know Christ was born in April, I'm kind of glad Christmas is in December, because what better time for the most cheerful holiday of the year?

By December, we're looking back on the goals we didn't meet, the funds we failed to save up, the improvements we neglected this year. We're freezing and the days are short, which means less natural endorphins from sunlight. And the older we get, the less magical the world around us seems to be.

But then--Christmas! Christmas happens! And who cares that we fell short? Who cares that it's dark and cold and miserable? It's Christmas! 

We need Christmas to come around every year. It's not just a nice tradition; it's something as necessary for our yearly spiritual health as a fast is for our monthly spiritual health. We need it. 

Christmas means making an effort to connect with people. It means giving gifts to neighbors we've never met and to coworkers we don't get along with and to family members we may be disconnected from. 

It means that even when we've grown too old to believe in Santa Claus and flying reindeer, we can still think back on the magic and the wonder we used to feel. It means that we strive to feel it again, or at least help those around us feel it again or for the first time.

But most of all, Christmas means thinking about the Savior. Just as fasting is an extra push of prayer (which should be a daily habit), thinking of Christ should be something we do every day of the year, but the month of December gives us reminders at every turn. It's in our face wherever we go--in supermarkets and on the radio and in our homes. 

Christmas gives us that extra nudge to remember the greatest gift that God has ever given us--His beloved son, Jesus Christ.

One of my favorite parts of the Book of Mormon is when Nephi is asking the angel about his father's vision of the Tree of Life. The angel shows Nephi the tree, and Nephi asks for an interpretation. 

The angel could have very easily just said, "Oh, it's God's love." Instead, the angel disappeared, and Nephi had a vision of his own.

And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white. 

And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou? 

And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins. 

And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God? 

And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things. 

And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Song of God, after the manner of the flesh. 

And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! 

And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms. 

And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw? 

And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. 

And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.

(1 Nephi 11: 13-23)

Nephi already knew that the Lord loves all His children. That was probably the most fundamental thing Nephi knew--the thing his "goodly parents" taught him his whole life. 

But then he saw the first Christmas, and he knew. 

God loves us. He didn't send His Beloved Son to be born of a virgin in a lowly manger just to show us a miracle--He did it so that His Son could grow up leading us by example, work miracles to give us hope and comfort, suffer for our sins, and conquer death. All for our sakes. 

God has given us countless blessings--so many that we probably don't even know about, let alone acknowledge. But His Son was the greatest gift of all--the light of the world. 

It's something we should remember every day of our lives, but Christmas gives us that extra little push--that constant reminder in the month of December that lifts our spirits and reminds us of the love God has for us all year round. 

So rather than get annoyed by people who clamor for "A little Christmas now," I'm going to try to appreciate every day of this month where everyone and everything around me reminds me of what I wish I remembered more during the rest of the year.

May we all feel God's love for us and for those around us as we celebrate this wonderful Christmas season. 

God bless us, every one. 

Ambiance/Production(?) Review: The Forgotten Carols by Michael McLean

You may or may not know this already, but I've been hired as the Deseret Book corporate office receptionist, which I'm extremely excited about because I get to meet cool people ever day, it's deep in the heart of the editing world, and I get awesome perks.

Case in point: By the time I started working there, Secret Santa assignments had already been given and carried out and I didn't expect to be involved in any way. But on my second day, I got to my desk and found these from Santa!

Awww! Unfortunately I'm off of sugar right now (which will get its own blog post explanation later), so I didn't eat them myself but Mom, Sarah, and Ashley really enjoyed them! And in this case, it really was the thought that counted.

I could list a bunch of awesome people (including some LDS celebrities) that I met just this first week in the office, but I won't. Just know it's been incredible. 

And then on Thursday it was a normal, chill day at the desk when I got an e-mail saying that Corporate was giving away 100 free tickets to their employees for The Forgotten Carols Friday night in Orem. 

I pounced. Not even knowing who could go with me or if I could make it, I snatched up four tickets right away. 

The Forgotten Carols has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I grew up listening to the CD while driving home from grandparents' houses on cold winter nights. I read the book once a long time ago. But I had yet to actually see the full production. It's been on my bucket list for forever, I just never got the chance or had the money. 

So to be offered tickets for free (even if they were last-minute for a production far away) was the best Christmas present I could have asked for this season.

Official logo from forgottencarols.com

I'm categorizing this as partly Ambiance because going to this production was an experience. It wasn't a play to be analyzed and criticized, it was a memory and a flood of feelings that has to be witnessed for oneself to be understood--as grandiose and moving as a spectacular landscape or a brilliant sunrise. 

I was really stressed leading up to the performance, because I was told we had to claim my tickets before 6:30 or they would be given away. Cue bumper-to-bumper traffic. 

We made it there by 6:45, and to my immense relief my tickets were still there waiting for us! It was just me and Mom who made it (it was too last minute for anyone else to come with us), and we had great seats only a few rows back from the side of the stage.

I knew what to expect from the story because, like I said, I grew up listening to it and reading it. But seeing it all in musical form was completely different. The singing wasn't as good as the CD I have on my iPod, but the acting was good and hearing the songs in the context was like really hearing them for the first time. 

For those of you who know absolutely nothing about The Forgotten Carols, it's about a nurse named Constance who is given the task of taking care of an eccentric old man over the week of Christmas. Constance is always caught up in her work and doesn't connect with people well. When she arrives at the man's house, she is at first very annoyed by the crazy "Uncle" John, who resists her professionalism, calling her Connie Lou, insisting he's over 2000 years old, and sharing Christmas carols with her that she's never heard before. 

Photo from forgottencarols.com

Uncle John's carols are all from people who witnessed the birth of the Savior themselves (he's 2000 years old, remember, so he knew them all personally), and as he shares them, Constance's empty life is gradually filled with the true spirit of Christmas, and she learns to open her heart to others.

Here's a trailer, if that wasn't enough for you:

It's a very simple stage production, with a limited cast and a small choir, but the music and the feelings were as powerful as a MoTab performance in the Conference Center.

I laughed, and I cried. Oh my goodness did I cry. The touching story of Uncle John forever changing Connie Lou's life wasn't the half of it, though that was tear-jerking on its own. No, what really got to me was how Michael McLean ended the show. 

McLean plays Uncle John himself, so when he came onto the stage to end the show, we all greeted him with roaring applause. But after a few more jokes and thanks to those who helped put it together, he got very sober. He told us how this was his first production without at least one of his parents in attendance, and that he was actually wearing his late father's clothes as Uncle John's costume.

He then proceeded to play one of his older songs for us on the piano. I'm sure you'd recognize it if you heard it. The chorus goes, "We can be together forever someday," repeated three times. Hearing him sing it was sad enough, knowing he was thinking of his parents. But then he played it again and had us sing the chorus with him.

Afterwards, he said, "Wow. That was...so reverent." We'd all kind of mumble-sung it half-heartedly, so he made us sing it again, this time with our arms linked with the people sitting next to us. This time we all sang a little louder--with a little more love in our hearts.

Finally, he told us to think about someone who wasn't there with us--someone who just couldn't make it. Someone who is far away. Someone who maybe isn't even on this side of the veil anymore.

When we sang it that last time, half of the audience sang it at the top of their lungs. The rest of us were too choked up with tears to sing at all.

McLean let the chorus trail off. The dark auditorium was filled with eye drying and sniffles. He asked us to remember what the Christmas season is really about. He reminded us that we sometimes feel like our carols are forgotten, but that Christ and Heavenly Father never forget us. And then he asked us to sing the one carol we'll never forget--"Silent Night."

Again, I was too choked up to sing very much, but I did my best. After singing the first verse, he asked us to hum it again. As we did, he said goodbye, he walked off the stage, and the lights shut off before we'd even made it to the last line.

A few people clapped when the song faded away, but for the most part the audience was quiet. Reverent. I've never seen anything like it before. Not even General Conference ends that quietly and thoughtfully.

I left that auditorium with a resolve in my heart to not only listen to The Forgotten Carols until April but also to open my heart more and remember Christ. Not just during the month of December, but all year round.

In summary, I recommend seeing this production if you get the chance. I HIGHLY recommend it. No matter who you are, no matter your circumstance, this production will speak to you. It will remind you what Christmas is all about. Who it has always been about.

Merry Christmas!