The true story of Desmond Doss who, due to a violent childhood (almost killed his brother, beaten by his father, stopped his father killing himself) turned to religion and became a pacifist.
Despite this, he enlisted in WWII, to serve his country as a medic, but refused to bear arms. Even though he was mercilessly persecuted by his platoon, he stuck to his beliefs and, with the help of his father, won the right to enter the war unarmed.
‘In a world so bent on tearing itself apart, it don’t seem so bad to want to put a little piece of it back together.’
Pushed to the brink of defeat and annihilation on Hacksaw Ridge, Doss didn’t retreat, instead spending a whole night rescuing fallen men – 75 in all, including 2 Japanese, who didn’t survive.
He wanted to save lives, not take them, and he went from being a pariah to a hero, so much so that the survivors would only go back to Hacksaw Ridge a second time if he went too. They won, but Doss was wounded.
Desmond Doss is a real hero and he is the role model kids should be shown today, not these untalented reality TV idiots.
What a phenomenal man and an inspiration. Life is life, irrespective of colour or battle.
An added touch, at the end of the film, was an interview with Desmond Doss himself, which was very moving.