12^th November 2016

Hacksaw Ridge (MA 15+, 2016)

The story of WWII Medal of Honor winner Desmond Doss, has now received full treatment in a major Hollywood production by Mel Gibson (though much of the official publicity refers to him simply as ‘the director’ of Braveheart and The Passion of the Christ – clearly Gibson is still being ‘rehabilitated’ before being returned to the Hollywood directing elite).

This film received an R rating in the USA for its violence and war depictions, and MA 15+ in Australia, recognising its adult content. It would of course be difficult to avoid the use of violence given the context. I refer to the citation for Doss’s medal that reads in part: … for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty from April 29 – 21 May 1945, while serving with the Medical Detachment, 307th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division, in action at Urasoe Mura, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands. Private First Class Doss was a company aid man when the 1st Battalion assaulted a jagged escarpment 400 feet high. As our troops gained the summit, a heavy concentration of artillery, mortar and machine gun fire crashed into them, inflicting approximately 75 casualties and driving the others back. Pfc. Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying all 75 casualties one-by-one to the edge of the escarpment and there lowering them on a rope-supported litter down the face of a cliff to friendly hands. …

Doss is portrayed as a ‘conscientious objector’, but I think the term ‘conscientious supporter’ is more accurate as he supported the war initiative and was willing to be a medic. He was very aware of the dimensions of evil on the axis side and believed that the war was justified. Doss refused to kill though, or to carry a weapon and this was based on his conviction as a Seventh-day Adventist, stemming especially from his mother’s bible training, views and own experience. Doss believed God guided him and gave him strength to serve in these almost unbelievable situations. He was willing to lay down his life for another, and was wounded three times during his service.

It is as Mel Gibson has highlighted, very much an Australian production, not only with the location filming, but Australian actors, including well-known actors Sam Worthington (Captain Glover), and Hugo Weaving (Desmond’s father) and Rachel Griffiths (Desmond’s mother). Desmond Doss is played in an understated and sincere manner by Andrew Garfield a US born English actor.

Hacksaw Ridge is simply quite overpowering, telling a story that is somewhat hard to fathom at any time, and I believe can only be understood from a Christian viewpoint.