Jack O’Connell stars as Louie Zamperini, a American B-24 Bombardier and a former Olympian long-distance runner in an inspiring and true account of a soldier’s life in the Pacific Theater during World War II. During a rescue mission for a crashed B-24, Zamperini’s plane goes down due to the mechanical failure in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

After coming to terms with his watery imprisonment aboard a jettisoned life raft, Zamperini must battle starvation, the elements, and must importantly going insane.

Despite what critics say about amateur director Angelina Jolie being too big in the film industry to simply switch to being behind the camera, the scenes she creates truly capture the hardships faced by Zamperini during his nearly 50 days adrift at sea.

Another aspect that Jolie highlights in the film that makes “Unbroken” a must-see is Zamperini’s feelings of selflessness for his other crew and allies once he is captured by the Japanese and placed in a detention camp. In one iconic scene of defiance he forces all his fellow allies in the camp to punch him repeatedly to save one of his tortured friend’s life from Japanese execution.

Bottom Line: The settings and the charisma of “Unbroken” are not only inspiring, but a must-see of the New Year.