Hacksaw Ridge

If you love true stories, you're definitely going to love this film. If you like Andrew Garfield, even better. And Mel Gibson redeems himself by directing this film, showing off that yeah, he's messed up, but he's still got the talent to deliver a phenomenal and moving picture. I will have to warn you that there is lots of blood and gore. This movie doesn't hold a whole lot back about the horrors of war.

H  A  C  K  S  A  W      R  I  D  G  E

                  Desmond Thomas Doss was born and raised a devout Christian. His father fought in The Great War and he came back an entirely different man to Desmond's mother. Desmond has an older brother, Hal, with whom he's very close. They grow up having adventures together, and even fighting each other.

                  On one occasion, Desmond and Hal were fighting when they were about ten and eleven.

Their father (played by Hugo Weaving) allows them to fight, saying that whoever wins will be the one to get beaten for showing violence. The one who gets beat will have been taught their lesson.

                  Hal and Desmond get separated from each other through a series of swings and throws, and Desmond finds a brick on the ground. He picks it up and swings it at Hal's head, causing Hal to be knocked unconscious. Mr. Doss takes Hal in and he and Mrs. Doss make sure he's alright.

                  Fast forward eight to ten years and Desmond is working on his church wall while the choir is singing. His mother asks him how they sound and he says "Like a choir of angels."

                  "Now don't you lie, Desmond. You know it's a sin to lie, especially in a place like this."

                  "Well I never said a singing choir." (*Note: Desmond Doss is a low-key savage)

                  Outside, an accident occurs, and Desmond goes to look at what's happened. A young man

has been stabbed by a vehicular part while repairing the underbelly of the car and his artery is squirting blood. Desmond takes off his belt and ties it tightly around the man's leg onto his artery. Someone gets a car and they drive to the nearest hospital.

                  Desmond goes in with the injured man, and the doctor that receives the patient commends Desmond's quick thinking and says "You may very well have saved this man's life." As Desmond is letting that sink in, he looks past the doctor and sees a beautiful young woman. He might as well have put on blinders because he simply can't stop looking at her.

                  He enters the room she's working around in, and she asks him if he'd like to give blood. He agrees, looking dream-like at the woman the whole time. He looks to his left and sees a book with her name written on it: Dorothy Schutte. After he gives blood, he leaves a very happy man indeed.

                  Later on at home while the Doss family is eating dinner, Hal walks in in an Army uniform. Mr. and Mrs. Doss do not approve at all, saying that killing is against the Lord's will. Mr. Doss even goes into a story about how one of his best friends died in battle, and he starts crying. "Get outta my sight," he tells Hal.

                  The next morning, Desmond leaves the house looking spiffy-like and goes on down to the

hospital again to find Dorothy working in the same little space he had found her in. When he walks in, Dorothy, with her back turned, asks "Have you ever given blood before?"

                  "Yes ma'am, I have."

                  She turns around and tells him that they can't take his blood twice in a row, to which Desmond replies "Well no, I've come to get my blood back."

                  "That's not how it works."

                  "Well see, I need my blood back because my heart's been beatin' real fast since yesterday, and when I look at you it beats all the faster." I've gotta say that that is probably the best pick-up line I have ever heard. Unreal, I tell you.

                  Desmond and Dorothy go on a date to the movies and afterwards, Desmond unexpectedly kisses her. She pulls away and gives him a slap. Not enough to make him say "Ow" or anything, but a slap is a slap. She asks why  he did that and he innocently says that he thought she might've liked it.

                  "Well I would've liked it if you'd asked." She crosses the street and stops on the other side and turns around. "You comin'?" Desmond takes a step forward and almost gets run over.

                  We skip a few scenes down the line and Desmond has enlisted in the Army and has told Dorothy that he's going to be a field medic. She's pretty mad about that and he asks her to marry him, to which she says yes. He goes into basic training and everything goes well until he refuses to pick up a firearm.

                  The CO's (Commanding Officers) make a huge deal out of it, which, I can understand why. Through a series of happenings and encounters with Generals and Sergeants, Doss is granted his wish of not carrying or even so much as touching a firearm. He simply wants to be a field medic.

He's court martialed, and during the trial, his father comes in with a letter from a high ranking officer in Washington, D.C. saying that Desmond Doss is permitted to not bear arms. He is simply labeled as

a conscientious objector.

                  So he officially enters into World War II. The battle that the movie focuses on is the Battle of Okinawa at Hacksaw Ridge, one of three battles where Desmond Doss served and saved many wounded, never firing a bullet. The first day of the battle, Doss saves a handful of men, all of whom are extremely grateful. The second day, the Japanese take back Hacksaw Ridge.

                  Captain Glover (Sam Worthington) and his men abandon the Ridge, and Doss is about to descend when one of his friends dies before he can save him. There's a naval ship that is firing rounds on the Ridge as cover fire for Glover's company to escape, and Doss asks God what he's going to do. He is just destroyed at the fact that he couldn't save his friend.

                  Almost immediately asking God for guidance, he hears a cry for help. Doss looks in the general direction of the cry and says "Okay." He gets up, puts on his helmet, and heads straight back into the battlefield. He brings the man to the Ridge and using a rope wrapped around the wounded soldier, descends him to where a couple of Glover's company are sitting around.

                  They get the soldier onto a stretcher and onto a buggy when another comes down. When they prep that soldier, another comes down. And they just keep coming. Desmond keeps going back into the field and rescuing the wounded, even if they are Japanese. And he's barely scratched. He almost gets caught by the Japanese, but he's pretty sneaky and is able to move around without being

detected.

                  He goes through two full days of rescuing people, each time after saving one saying "Please Lord, help me get one more." He earns so much respect from Glover and his surviving company after making it safely down from the Ridge. Even the fresh recruits that come in respect him. Everyone knows his name, and everyone wants to have him on the battlefield with them. They feel invincible when he's up there.

                  Desmond makes it back to the camp where everyone is getting ready to take back Hacksaw, and Glover asks Desmond if he'll go back up. Saturday is Desmond's Sabbath, but he understands that he is needed on the Ridge. He accompanies the troop to the base of the Ridge and prays for all of them before the siege begins.
                  They begin climbing the steep mountain side as naval ships are delivering cover for them, and the siege goes very well in terms of domination. They force the Japanese to come out bearing white flags, which, when I was watching it, seemed unusual to me. For those of you that don't know, the Japanese culture has always been one about honor and dignity. As a result, the Japanese have never been known to officially surrender, which is one of the many reasons why the end of World War II was so significant.
                  So the Japanese come out in "surrender", but they pull the pins on about a half dozen grenades and toss them into the waiting American Company. They are all batted away back to the Japanese, and many are blown up and/or shot. Desmond knocks one such grenade back, and it explodes, causing him to fly back. Part of his leg is severely burned, but he's still in one piece. He's evacuated and sent back home.

H  A  C  K  S  A  W      R  I  D  G  E

Ratings:
Family Friendliness: 2/10 The movie is rated "R", and like I said, there's plenty of blood and gore, and there's a brief sensual scene between Desmond and Dorothy. There's also a fair share of cursing.

Story-line: 9/10 The story of Desmond Doss is a true one. He was the first and only Conscientious Objector during World War II to be awarded the Medal of Honor. His bravery and his courage are truly inspiring.

Acting: 9/10 There was an all-star cast and they all did a phenomenal job portraying their respective characters.

Intensity: 9/10 There's no other way to say that this movie was stressful. It wasn't stressful in terms of suspense, but you're sitting on the edge of your seat hoping that Desmond makes it home. Every close encounter has you holding your breath for him, and every wounded soldier he saves is a victory.

Visuals: 8/10 Everything you saw was stunning. It was horrific, but it was stunning. I think this film gives a very clear and nearly accurate picture of what World War II must have been like. Many young men out there sacrificing their lives for their country is truly a humbling thing to think about. Especially when today most teenagers would never even think of picking up a gun and willingly leaving the comfort of their homes to enter the battlefield.
Overall: 9/10 The low family friendliness score gave this an actual rating of 7.4, but for those that aren't sensitive to intense war films, this is a phenomenal film. It's along the same lines of Saving Private Ryan, American Sniper, and Lone Survivor: not for the faint of heart.


Bibliography:
"Hacksaw Ridge" <http://mauiwatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Hacksaw-Ridge-790x445.jpg>
"Hacksaw Ridge Desmond Thomas Doss" <http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/09/06/19/37FA552800000578-3776433-image-a-71_1473186304932.jpg>
"Desmond Thomas Doss" <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/DossDesmondT_USArmy.jpg/220px-DossDesmondT_USArmy.jpg>
"Hacksaw Ridge Sam Worthington" <http://themillimetre.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Sam-Worthington-in-Hacksaw-Ridge.jpg>
"Hacksaw Ridge Vince Vaughn" <http://www.hacksawridge.movie/img/gallery/img05.jpg>
"Hacksaw Ridge Trailer" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2-1hz1juBI>