While sitting in The Harbor Theatre minutes before the technical screening of “Unbroken” began, I was thinking about the trailers I'd seen for the film on TV, and wondering if I'd seen all of the compelling scenes already.

I hadn't.

In fact, I spent the better part of the 2-hour, 15-minute film on the edge of my seat, my arms resting on the back of the seat in front of me.

“Unbroken,” based on a biography of Louis Zamperini's life, by Laura Hillenbrand, is moving, often disturbing and awe-inspiring.

Zamperini, portrayed with perfection by Jack O'Connell, grew up in a close-knit Italian immigrant family. A constant target of bullies, he always fought back; and, when knocked down, he refused to stay down. Most of the people in his community wanted him to be “put away.” Even Zamperini had a low opinion of himself.

But the day his brother Peter (Alex Russell) saw him running from the track at the school (after being caught drinking and checking out what was under the skirts of the teenage girls from his hiding place under the bleachers) Pete got the idea to get Louie on the track team.

Louie ran all the way to the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.

His survival instincts from childhood served him well when he and two other Army Air Force soldiers, Phil (Domhnall Gleeson) and Mac (Finn Whittrock), found themselves the sole survivors of a plane crash while on a rescue mission. All three almost made it the 47 days spent with two life rafts, often circled by sharks.

On day 47, just one day after burying Mac at sea, Louie said to Phil, “I have good news, and I have bad news.” A Japanese warship loomed above the two men lying in their raft.

The bullying he experienced growing up could not have prepared him for the vicious beatings and horrific treatment Zamperini would experience as a prisoner of war.

Corporal Watanabe, known to the detention camp prisoners as “The Bird,” is played by Takamasa Ashihara (stage name, Miyavi) with precision. “The Bird” makes it his mission to beat down the “Olympic athlete” among his captives.

These scenes are brutal — and there are many.

Ashihara has said he often broke down crying, off set, due to the intensity he experienced portraying this real Japanese officer.

I find it amazing that Zamperini didn’t suffer permanent brain and internal damage from all of the hits he took to the face with Watanabe’s baton.

Zamperini, returning home at the end of World War II, did suffered from forms of PTSD, including vivid nightmares about “The Bird.” To cope, he became a heavy drinker. All of these after-effects ended, according to Zamperini, once he became a born-again Christian in 1949.

At various intervals throughout the film, Zamperini recalls moments from his life before he joined the military, giving audiences his back story.

“If you can take it, you can make it.” This is what Zamperini's brother tells him throughout his training running — from high school (where he sets a new record) to the Olympic games.

He did indeed take it — and, unbelievably — he made it.

“Unbroken” director (and co-producer) Angelina Jolie has created both an amazing, respectful tribute of Zamperini's life, and one hell of a motion picture. The acting by all of the actors, many non-actors, is superb.

The Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, came on board as the primary scriptwriters, Jolie's only choice for the task.

The cinematography by Roger Deakins makes the dogfight scenes in the aircraft and lost at sea scenes breathtaking. Deakins' work received an Oscar nomination.

This film received two other Oscar nominations for Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing.

Audiences will think about this picture long after they've left the theater.

It is about one man's brutal wartime experience, but it is also a story about the nature of the human spirit, and, an  homage to all the servicemen and women who endure the horrors of capture during war time.  If you can take it, you can make it. Some do not. Zamperini is one of our veterans who did.

“Unbroken” is playing at The Harbor Theatre in Boothbay Harbor at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 6, Saturday, March 7, Wednesday, March 11 and Thursday, March 12; at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 8.

The Harbor Theatre is located at 185 Townsend Avenue across from Hannaford.

Call 207-633-0438 for more information.