It is hard to watch but has a lot of emotive issues which many can identify with. The university of the Jungle was inspired and empowered the POW's with a sense of purpose and hope. "Dusty" was almost over the top in his offer to be a substitute. Kiefer also had that same quality after he came to his senses. The credits at the end of the film showing both Japanese translator and the teacher being reunited at the cemetery was as moving as the film itself. It was pretty gruesome to watch the brutality being inflicted on the prisoners. What they accomplished in the building of the railroad through such horrendous and challenging conditions was extraordinary. The suffering of that challenge and the response of the prisoners to their captors certainly speaks for forgiveness. It is similar to the hearings in South Africa just a few years ago.