Unbroken | The Plank Scene

In Louis' (Jack O'Connell) final act of defiance toward The Bird (Miyavi), he overcomes years of mistreatment to show the strength of his will in the iconic plank scene from Unbroken.

Buy/Rent Unbroken!

Academy Award® winner Angelina Jolie directs and produces this epic drama that follows the incredible life of Olympian and war hero Louis "Louie" Zamperini (Jack O'Connell) who, along with two other crewmen, survived on a raft for 47 days after a near-fatal plane crash in WWII – only to be caught by the Japanese navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp. Adapted from Laura Hillenbrand's (Seabiscuit: An American Legend) enormously popular book, it’s the inspiring true story about the resilient power of the human spirit.

© 2014 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Cast: Jack O'Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Miyavi, Garrett Hedlund, Finn Wittrock
Produced By: Angelina Jolie, Clayton Townsend, Matthew Baer, Erwin Stoff
Directed By: Angelina Jolie

[masterbuilderproductions]

He held the plank for 37 minutes. He was also starved and had a broken ankle while doing this.

[jacktaylor]

"Don't look at me" the words of a man who knows he is losing

[justinjones]

This scene always sends me chills every time I watch it. A real life man that was beaten time after time, tortured, starved, weak, everything. And then came the time where everyone for sure thought this was the end for him. And he still did that right in front the entire camp. That right there is not a soldier, that’s a warrior.

[Redman-]

Man forgot rule one of trying to break a group "Never give them someone to look at as a martyr"

[shinigami]

"A moment of pain is worth a lifetime of glory"

[gitsurfer]

"In the midst of the chaos I discovered that there was an invincible calm within me. No matter how hard the world pushes against me; Inside me there is something stronger, something better, pushing back."
Albert Camus

[swiftlessytvlogs]

My great Uncle was captured by soldiers in Japan, him and many other soldiers were taken and interrogated, he never liked to speak about what they did for obvious reasons, but he was a medic of some sorts, and so the Japanese soldiers had him give their own soldiers medication, if he overdosed them or did anything they would have him killed, but my great Uncle did something far greater, he snuck medication to his own friends and fellow soldiers, saving their lives, and he wrote down what he gave them in a music book, he did all of this without the Japanese soldiers knowing, if they found out he would have been killed, in the end they were all released and my Uncle saved the lives of many prisoners... when I watch this film it often reminds me of what many had to go through, and how brave my great Uncle was, he passed away a couple of years ago at 101 years old, one of the most lovely people you would ever meet

[lukethegoldenminecart]

He showed so much willpower and determination id say even some of the Japanese guards were impressed

[zhouwu]

That guy with the plank won for all of us. We've all faced a menacing power, dead set to do us harm. In him, we can see that it is possible and worthwhile to overcome.

[cyrilgasataya]

"It's okay to suffer at the beginning as long as it is worth it at the end"

[mackbolin]

My Dad was a Prisoner of the Japanese war in the Philippines and survived the Battan Death March. He was a Navy man and later on in his years he told us about how they tortured him and his buddies for over 3yrs. He passed at the age of 98yrs in 2006'. Thank you for your Service and Sacrifice Dad and to All in Uniform! RIP 🙏.

[starkiller]

5:00 I love the silent acting here. I know it’s not exactly historicaly accurate, but the way Louie realizes how silent the camp has become is perfect. And when he slowly looks at the bird he almost draws the fear out of him with no dialogue. In the end it wasn’t brute force or anger that got Louie through it, it was quiet strength, being able to endure longer than anyone else. If you can take it you can make it

[caseysnell]

Edit: THIS IS WRONG
Watanabe was a misanthropic masochist to the end, he had no remorse for what he did and he breaks down here because this prisoner he thought of as so much less than him dared challenge him like that.

Original comment:
I don't think i realized this until just now, the reason this works breaking the officer. Looking him in the eye while he was so obviously in pain, it breaks the mirage of propaganda the officer has been feed, and for a moment, he's forced to see that he's doing this to another human being, not an enemy, just a person.

[gasstation]

“Do not pray for easier lives, pray to be stronger men” - John F Kennedy

[comrademason]

For a moment even the guards respected him, and they were all taught that prisoners of war were less than human

[MrMiike]

Great movie...only shows the tip of the iceberg on what the POW's went through back in the day..much respect to these guys

[karakorovulavula]

This is a representation of "I don't care if you don't believe me, I believe in myself" you better recognize all of us have the power to stand up for something we believe in! Never ever feel as if you should be oppressed! Fight for something when you believe in it. Even if it means standing alone.

[malikmccallum]

As Louie was staring into the soldier’s eyes is like a way of saying, “I am the one who cannot be broken.

[jayalbert]

Don’t look at me ....don’t look at me

Little does he know that watching him gave him the motivation to keep holding that plank

[varokwiss]

This is one of my favorite movies so far. I love this scene when he looked at him and he lifts the plank.

That reminded me of a quote from another movie that says:
"Today, I saw a man be better than the emperor himself"