A life-changing movie: ‘Hacksaw Ridge’

As the credits rolled for the movie “Hacksaw Ridge,” I finished drying my tears with my sweatshirt sleeve. Even after being cramped in the middle seat of an 8-hour airplane ride to Cincinnati, Ohio, “Hacksaw Ridge” managed to move me and make me appreciate all war heros.

The movie came out last November, and I had seen advertisements for it, but never got to watching the two-time Oscar-winning film until this past month.

The movie follows the true story of a World War II army medic Desmond Doss, played by Andrew Garfield, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Throughout Doss’s training and battle, he refuses to pick up a gun due to his strong ties to the Seventh Day Adventist Church, which holds a belief in nonviolence. This belief brings a lot of criticism from his military officials and peers.

During the battle, however, Doss singlehandedly saves 75 infantrymen who were left behind and severely injured without firing a single weapon, carrying them on his shoulders and lowering them down a cliff with a contraption made from rope. While the rest of his unit fled to to safety, Doss was stranded in no-man's land, looking for men who were fighting to stay alive.

After many rescues, Doss persists on, asking God to help him in his journey, saying, “Lord, help me save one more.”  

Doss’s immense perseverance and selflessness are extremely motivational. He takes all his own strength and risks his own life for the wounded and stranded soldiers who would have died without him. Doss could have easily left with his unit or used a gun to protect himself, but he stuck to his moral and religious beliefs, and saved 75 men from death without any violence.

Doss’s story moved me and made me realize my own problems are nothing compared to the life-or-death situation he faced. The math test I was stressing about suddenly seemed foolish and petty.

Since that plane ride, I have watched the movie three times.I have also shown the movie to my parents and a couple of my friends and they all agree that it has made them more enlightened about the reality of war, as well as be more humble and compassionate people.