Based on the diaries of Canadian doctor Ben Wheeler during his internment in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp during World War II, this feature-length docudrama is a glowing account of the spirit and its will to survive physical and mental suffering. The film is comprised of newsreel footage, interviews and dramatic re-enactments.
Direction
Anne Wheeler directs her father's story — the personal becomes universal.
Acting
David Edney's stillness speaks louder than any Oscar speech.
Editing
Newsreel footage collides with re-enactment — history breathes and bleeds.
Director
Anne Wheeler
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Donald Sutherland and Anne Wheeler had previously collaborated on 'The Disappearance' — he recorded narration as a favor, unaware he'd become the film's emotional anchor.
One of the first Canadian films to address Japanese internment of Allied POWs from a survivor's perspective, it predated Hollywood's POW wave by years and remains rarely screened.
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