UNITED KINGDOM: Oscar-winning actor Colin Firth joins World War Two veterans at the British premiere of "The Railway Man", the true story of a British soldier's torture by the Japanese while he was a prisoner of war in South East Asia

Record ID: 221194

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Oscar-winning actor Colin Firth joins World War Two veterans at the British premiere of "The Railway Man", the true story of a British soldier's torture by the Japanese while he was a prisoner of war in South East Asia
  • Date: 4th December 2013
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 4, 2013) (REUTERS) **CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY** POSTER ABOVE CINEMA ENTRANCE FOR "THE RAILWAY MAN" / RED CARPET FANS NEAR RED CARPET FOR PREMIERE OF "THE RAILWAY MAN" ACTOR, COLIN FIRTH, WITH WIFE, LIVIA FIRTH, ON RED CARPET, PHOTOGRAPHERS TAKING PHOTOGRAPH (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR, COLIN FIRTH, SAYING: "It's about somethin
  • Embargoed: 19th December 2013 12:00
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  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVA7SOQM0LK6ZPNEHBKJ305ZX8ZE
  • Story Text: British actor Colin Firth joined World War Two veterans on the red carpet on Wednesday (December 4) for the UK premiere of "The Railway Man", a story that tells of one man's torture at the hands of the Japanese in building a railway in the Far East and a story that he said was not being told enough.
    Firth, given an Academy Award for his role as King George VI in The King's Speech, was joined on the red carpet by his wife Livia at the premiere of the film, in which he portrays World War Two veteran Eric Lomax, who was captured by the Japanese and spent years as a prisoner of war.
    Lomax then suffered for decades before finding the strength to forgive his captors, before eventually recounting events in a memoir, also called "The Railway Man."
    Speaking to Reuters Television, Firth said he felt a special sense of obligation in trying to tell such a story.

    "It's about something very, very, very important which happened to an individual which has implications for thousands of people - people who went through it with their families - and it's not, I don't think, told as broadly as it should be," he said.

    "I think that, given what it cost this man to write this book, and what it cost him to resolve things the way he did, we didn't want to be the ones to disappoint at this stage of the story telling," he told Reuters TV, adding that it was a role that had a real emotional toll on him.

    "I've rarely felt quite so out of my depth or as inadequate to capturing an experience just because it is so immense, so long ago. It was shared by vast numbers of people," Firth said.

    "We're not brought up with any understanding of it, and so yes, I think it was something where my own limitations as an actor, combined with the limitations of film making, in that we've got 90 minutes to try and get a fragment of this, were all pretty overwhelming," he added.
    The film begins in the later decades of Lomax's life, when he meets and falls in love with his future wife Patti, played by Nicole Kidman.
    Their marriage was tested by his nightmares and breakdowns, a legacy of the beatings and other torture he suffered.
    Lomax is forced to confront his past when he learns that Takashi Nagase, the young English-speaking officer who participated in his brutal interrogations, is still alive.
    Veterans of World War Two attended the premiere, where one veteran - Eric Adie - said the story being told had needed telling.

    "It's taken a long time. I'm amazed that this film has now been made, after all these years. But it's a good thing, it's a good thing, it's a good thing that it's been made," he told Reuters Television.
    The film's younger Lomax is portrayed by Jeremy Irvine, who said his involvement had left an impact that would last for some time.

    "I was kind of left with a huge emotional connection in the fact that when Eric, when I heard that Eric had passed away just before, really, the film was able to be shown to him was a very emotional time, but you know his wife's here and Patti, who I'm in regular contact with is a truly remarkable person - I think she's wearing a dress with bits of Eric's kilt on it," he said.

    "I think this is going to stay with me for a long time," Irvine added.
    Patti Lomax acted as an adviser on the film, as did her husband before he passed away.
    She said it was vital that the problems Eric encountered in trying to deal with what happened to him were confronted, adding that while the film is historical, topics like the trauma of torture victims and returning soldiers are as relevant as ever.

    "I think it's very important for the history point of view but also to point out that battle stress, which my husband suffered from, doesn't go away, whether it's an old injury or perhaps a modern one, and there should be more attention paid to it," she told Reuters Television.
    The filmmakers drew inspiration from the outcome of Lomax's story.
    After confronting Nagase, he was able to forgive his former captor, and the two became friends.
    Nagase's younger self was played in the movie by Japanese actor Tanroh Ishida, who said that it was a difficult period of history for Japanese audiences to confront, but he hoped the thrust of the story was what would be understood when watching it.

    "I'm still looking forward to seeing how Japanese audiences will watch this film and what they take out of it, but hopefully the message at the end is the reconciliation and beyond, so I really hope that they get that message at the end, and I'm sure they will," he said.

    "The Railway Man" opens in the UK on January 1.
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