The True Story Behind Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken

3 minute read

The Angelina Jolie-directed film Unbroken is generating buzz on the basis of its two outsized personas: Jolie’s, and the late Louis Zamperini (played onscreen by Jack O’Connell). The story of the Olympian-turned-prisoner of war became widely known when Laura Hillenbrand published her biography of him, which served as the source material for Jolie’s film; it’s a remarkable story of survival.

Jolie’s film takes some departures from what’s been documented, though none too dramatic. In general, where Jolie’s film diverges from history are in junctures that make the action more traditionally cinematic.

Here’s the breakdown of what’s true, false and somewhere in between:

As a young man, Louis Zamperini was a target for bullies who learned to defend himself.

Ruling: Sort of. On film, Zamperini is targeted by bullies and ends up on the ground, though his father later encourages him to defend himself; in real life, per Hillenbrand, Zamperini learned to fight back, leaving his classmates with “fat lips.” We also miss out on his later pastime of breaking into homes and outrunning the police; the film’s Zamperini is more of a misguided good kid than the book’s juvenile delinquent.

Zamperini got into running because his brother notices how good he is at running away from trouble.

Ruling: Not entirely. Jolie’s film leaves out that also he wanted to impress girls in school. Women, other than Zamperini’s mother, play no role in this film’s proscribed vision of the world.

Zamperini was a stunning standout at the Olympics.

Ruling: True. Zamperini placed eighth in the 5,000 meters at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, with an impressive 56-second final lap. It’s an artistic choice that the film omits Zamperini shaking an impressed Hitler’s hand, instead dwelling on just how amazing that final lap was.

After his plane was downed over the Pacific, Zamperini and his fellow survivors sustained themselves by eating albatrosses.

Ruling: True. And nauseating.

In Japanese P.O.W. camps, Zamperini’s main problem was the physical abuse he was taking, including getting repeatedly punched in the face.

Ruling: Hmm… The whole ordeal is awful, but Jolie tends to soften life for Zamperini, focusing on his relationship with a single guard rather than, say, his untreated beriberi. It’s a question of degree, but Zamperini seems to mostly have the malady of being treated poorly.

Zamperini talked to his fellow prisoners, including John Fitzgerald (Garrett Hedlund), in the cell block.

Ruling: False. Speaking amongst prisoners at Ofuna camp was strictly forbidden.

After his release from prison, Zamperini went on to carry the Olympic torch in Nagano in 1998 and to get married.

Ruling: True. But counting this is cheating: A series of titles onscreen list the facts about Zamperini’s later life.

Angelina Jolie: Humanitarian

UNHCR's Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie Pitt greets refugees and migrants during her visit to the port of Piraeus, Greece, March 16, 2016. She urged the international community to respond to Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II with generosity and not the "politics of fear."
UNHCR's Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie Pitt greets refugees and migrants during her visit to the port of Piraeus, Greece, March 16, 2016. She urged the international community to respond to Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II with generosity and not the "politics of fear."Louisa Gouliamaki—AFP/Getty Images
Angelina Jolie UNHCR Refugees Myanmar
UNHCR special envoy Angelina Jolie Pitt shakes hands with Kachin ethnic refugee children as she visits Eight Miles Palana IDP camp in Myitkyina capital city of Kachin state, Myanmar on July 30, 2015.Soe Zeya Tun—Reuters
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Special Envoy Angelina Jolie meets displaced Iraqis who are members of the minority Christian community, living in an abandoned school in Al Qosh, northern Iraq on Jan. 26, 2015.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Special Envoy Angelina Jolie meets displaced Iraqis who are members of the minority Christian community, living in an abandoned school in Al Qosh, northern Iraq on Jan. 26, 2015. Jolie wrote an Op-Ed for the New York Times on the suffering she witnessed there.Andrew McConnell—UNHCR/Reuters
Actress Angelina Jolie, right, is presented with the Insignia of an Honorary Dame Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, London, Oct. 10, 2014.
Actress Angelina Jolie, right, is presented with the Insignia of an Honorary Dame Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, London, Oct. 10, 2014. Anthony Devlin—AP
Angelina Jolie. in her role as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Special Envoy, listening to Maltese military officers discussing rescue at sea operations for refugees at a military base in Valetta, Malta, Sept. 14, 2014.
Angelina Jolie. in her role as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Special Envoy, listening to Maltese military officers discussing rescue at sea operations for refugees at a military base in Valetta, Malta, Sept. 14, 2014.Pete Muller—EPA
Handout photo shows Angelina Jolie, UNHCR special envoy, visiting ethnic Karenni refugee Baw Meh from Myanmar on World Refugee Day, at Ban Mai Nai Soi refugee camp in the province of Mae Hong Son
Angelina Jolie, special envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), visits Karenni refugee Baw Meh, 75, and Baw Meh's family from Myanmar on World Refugee Day, at Ban Mai Nai Soi refugee camp, Myanmar in this photo release on June 20, 2014.R. Arnold—UNHCR/Reuters
Actress and Special Envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Angelina Jolie, hugs Neema Namadamu of the Democratic Republic of Congo a the 'End Sexual Violence in Conflict' summit in London
Actress and Special Envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Angelina Jolie, hugs Neema Namadamu of the Democratic Republic of Congo a the 'End Sexual Violence in Conflict' summit in London June 11, 2014. Lefteris Pitarakis—Reuters
FILE: Actress Angelina Jolie Reveals She Underwent a Preventative Double Mastectomy
Actress Angelina Jolie leaves Lancaster House after attending the G8 Foreign Minsters' conference on April 11, 2013 in London.Oli Scarff—Getty Images
Angelina Jolie meets with refugees at the Zaatari refugee camp on Dec. 6, 2012 outside of Mafraq, Jordan.
Angelina Jolie meets with refugees at the Zaatari refugee camp on Dec. 6, 2012 outside of Mafraq, Jordan.Jason Tanner—UNHCR/Getty Images
Angelina Jolie walks through the jungle led by Plinio, the President of Providencia community on April 22, 2012 in Ecuador.
Angelina Jolie walks through the jungle led by Plinio, the President of Providencia community on April 22, 2012 in Ecuador. Jason Tanner—UNHCR/Getty Images
Angelina Jolie visits Libya to help agencies bringing aid to Libyans in Tripoli and Misrata on Oct. 11, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.
Angelina Jolie visits Libya to help agencies bringing aid to Libyans in Tripoli and Misrata on Oct. 11, 2011 in Misrata, Libya. Jason Tanner—UNHCR/Getty Images
Angelina Jolie speaks during an annual meeting of UNHCR's governing executive committee in Geneva Oct. 4, 2011.
Angelina Jolie speaks during an annual meeting of UNHCR's governing executive committee in Geneva Oct. 4, 2011. Jason Tanner—UNHCR/Reuters
Angelina Jolie, meets with Khanum Gul, 35, a mother of 8 and her youngest son, Samir at their makeshift home at Tamil Mill Bus site in Kabul city, Afghanistan in Feb. 2011.
Angelina Jolie, meets with Khanum Gul, 35, a mother of 8 and her youngest son, Samir at their makeshift home at Tamil Mill Bus site in Kabul city, Afghanistan in Feb. 2011. Jason Tanner—UNHCR/Getty Images
Angelina Jolie speaks with media during a visit to the Jalozai flood victim relief camp in Pakistan's northwest Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on Sept. 7, 2010.
Angelina Jolie speaks with media during a visit to the Jalozai flood victim relief camp in Pakistan's northwest Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on Sept. 7, 2010. Morteza Nikoubazl—Reuters
Actress Angelina Jolie visits the Green Zone in Baghdad Feb. 7, 2008.
Actress Angelina Jolie visits the Green Zone in Baghdad Feb. 7, 2008.James Deady—U. S. Department of Defense/Reuters
Actress Angelina Jolie's back is seen as she arrives to attend the premiere of the film "A Mighty Heart" in New York, June 13, 2007.
Actress Angelina Jolie's back is seen as she arrives to attend the premiere of the film "A Mighty Heart" in New York, June 13, 2007. Lucas Jackson—Reuters
Angelina Jolie accepts the Global Humanitarian Award at the United Nations Association of the United States of America annual gala dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel Oct. 11, 2005 in New York.
Angelina Jolie accepts the Global Humanitarian Award at the United Nations Association of the United States of America annual gala dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel Oct. 11, 2005 in New York. Evan Agostini—Getty Images
Angelina Jolie speaks at the National Press Club on March 8, 2005 in Washington DC. Jolie answered questions about her work as the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations and her work with refugees and orphans.
Angelina Jolie speaks at the National Press Club on March 8, 2005 in Washington DC. Jolie answered questions about her work as the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations and her work with refugees and orphans. Win McNamee—Getty Images
Angelina Jolie arrives at the El-Geneina airport in West Darfur as the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees on Oct. 25 2004.
Angelina Jolie arrives at the El-Geneina airport in West Darfur as the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees on Oct. 25 2004. Cris Bouroncle—AFP/Getty Images
Actress Angelina Jolie visits Bella refugee camp Aug. 22, 2003 in Ingushetia, near the Chechen border in Russia's North Caucasus region.
Actress Angelina Jolie visits Bella refugee camp Aug. 22, 2003 in Ingushetia, near the Chechen border in Russia's North Caucasus region. Tanya Makeeva—Getty Images
American actress Angelina Jolie (C) receives gifts
Angelina Jolie receives gifts from the children at the Tham Hin refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border May 19, 2002. Jolie visited the camp on as part of her role as goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.Sukree Sukplan—AFP/Getty Images

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