Netflix World War II True Story Honors The Least Likely Hero

Hacksaw Ridge is an Oscar-winning biographical war drama that tells a remarkable story, a true story, of a pacifist combat medic, Desmond Doss—beautifully portrayed by Andrew Garfield—who saved 75 men during the Battle of Okinawa.

What makes this feat so extraordinary is the fact that Doss, in a true pacifist fashion, did it without firing a single weapon. In fact, his refusal to carry and use a firearm leads to his arrest for insubordination and his court-martial during the film, resulting in mistreatment from the very people he later saves in the movie.

Hacksaw Ridge is everything you can expect from a movie made by Mel Gibson; it’s an unflinching portrayal of human capabilities to commit atrocities against members of their own kind.

This is present in nearly every major film he directed: Apocalypto depicted the brutalities of a collapsing civilization; The Passion of the Crist depicted the rather intense and visceral final hours of Jesus; and Braveheart provided a raw and violent portrayal of the Scottish fight for independence. In the same fashion, Hacksaw Ridge portrays the atrocities of war.

If you like war-themed cinematography, Hacksaw Ridge is a great cinematic experience that can match Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, with its cataclysmic and harrowing combat scenes that, despite the violence they depict, are definitely worth every second of their 139 minutes of runtime.

The movie was a commercial success—though perhaps not so much by today’s standards—earning $180 million against its $40 million budget. However, the awards it earned popped up like daisies following rain.

Soon after its release, Hacksaw Ridge received critical acclaim, with particular praise towards Gibson’s direction and Andrew Garfield’s performance—the latter received a number of awards and nominations for his portrayal of Desmond Doss, including his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. It actually proved that his breadth and depth as an actor go beyond his portrayal of Spider-Man in various releases over the past two decades.

Hacksaw Ridge received a total of six Academy Awards nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Sound Editing, but won only Best Sound Mixing and Best Film Editing. It went on to win 41 awards in total, against 100 nominations, including British Academy Film Awards, Golden Globe Award nominations, and 21^st Satellite Awards, among many others.

It ended up being named one of the Top 10 Films of 2016 by the American Film Institute and National Board of Review. Those interested in watching Hacksaw Ridge can do so on Netflix.