The Railway Man

A victim from World War II's "Death Railway" sets out to find those responsible for his torture. A true story.



Eric Lomax was one of thousands of Allied prisoners of war forced to work on the construction of the Thai/Burma railway during WW2. His experiences, after the secret radio he built to bring news and hope to his colleagues was discovered, left him traumatised and shut off from the world. Years later, he met Patti, a beautiful woman, on a train and fell in love. Patti was determined to rid Eric of his demons. Discovering that the young Japanese officer who haunted her husband was still alive, she faced a terrible decision. Should Eric be given a chance to confront his tormentor? Would she stand by him, whatever he did?
- Written by Anonymous




A former British Army officer, who was tormented as a prisoner of war at a Japanese labor camp during World War II, discovers that the man responsible for much of his treatment is still alive and sets out to confront him.
- Written by Anonymous




SYNOPSIS

During the Second World War, Eric Lomax is a British officer who is captured by the Japanese in Singapore and sent to a Japanese POW camp, where he is forced to work on the Thai-Burma Railway north of the Malay Peninsula. During his time in the camp as one of the Far East prisoners of war, Lomax is tortured by the Kempeitai (military secret police) for building a radio receiver from spare parts. The torture depicted includes beatings, food deprivation and waterboarding. Apparently, he had fallen under suspicion of being a spy, for supposedly using the British news broadcast receiver as a transmitter of military intelligence. In fact, however, his only intention had been to use the device as a morale booster for himself and his fellow prisoner-slaves. Lomax and his surviving comrades are finally rescued by the British Army.

Some 30 years later, Lomax is still suffering the psychological trauma of his wartime experiences, though strongly supported by his wife Patricia. His best friend and fellow ex-POW Finlay brings him evidence that one of their captors, Japanese secret police officer Takashi Nagase, is now working as a tourist guide in the very camp where he and his men once tortured British POWs, having escaped prosecution for his war crimes. Before Lomax can act on this information, Finlay, unable to handle his memories of his experiences, commits suicide by hanging himself from a bridge. Lomax travels alone to Thailand and returns to the scene of his torture to confront Nagase 'in an attempt to let go of a lifetime of bitterness and hate'. When he finally confronts his former captor, Lomax first questions him in the same way Nagase and his men had interrogated him years before.

The situation builds up to the point where Lomax prepares to smash Nagase's arm, using a club and a clamp designed by the Japanese for that purpose and now used as war exhibits. Out of guilt, Nagase does not resist, but Lomax redirects the blow at the last moment. Lomax threatens to cut Nagase's throat and finally pushes him into a bamboo cage, of the kind in which Lomax and many other POWs had been placed as punishment. Nagase soon reveals that the Japanese (including himself) were brainwashed into thinking the war would be a victorious one for them, and that he never knew the high casualties caused by the Imperial Japanese Army. Lomax finally frees Nagase, throws his knife into the nearby river, and finally at peace with himself, returns to Britain.

After an indefinite period of time, Lomax returns, with Patricia, to Thailand. He meets up with Nagase once again, and in an emotional scene, after exchanging and accepting each other's apologies, the two make peace. The epilogue relates that Nagase and Eric remained friends until their deaths in 2011 and 2012, respectively.