I am a person not affiliated to any religious group. I tried to respect people with religious beliefs, but never with any true understanding. I was shocked by how religious faith could outburst one’s physical and mental strength just out of altruism, in this movie based on a true story.
The power of his religion mainly was represented in two moments on Desmond Doss: the refusal of touching the guns (or, this might also be rooted more from his terrible experience in a family with a father who had traumatic pain due to having been at war), and the super-humanly grit in rescuing his comrades at the Hacksaw Ridge. I could not believe how a man could survive extreme weariness and injuries (Mr. Doss’s hands were blurred with flesh, blood and dirt due to repeatedly sending the wounded down the ridge by simply pulling on the ropes), and bear more than a few times the horror of being killed right away (stabbed by the japs’ bayonet without moving in the process of pretending dead camouflaged by a dead body, running away from a grenade and hiding from the japs in the underground tunnel without a weapon at hand (this theme indeed frightened me), etc., etc.). Mr. Doss was not someone not afraid of death–he was extremely horrified in a number of cases and woke up from nightmares but still tried his best to survive and to save others, and God played such an important role in it.
In my opinion God mainly served as an accompaniment and source of strength. The hardest moment for a human to stick to what he/she is doing is when he/she realised being alone. But provided Mr. Doss’s firm faith, I think he actually believed that God exists, and when he was facing all the difficulties alone, he actually felt that God was looking over him, accompanying him, giving him guide and strength, for he always murmured “God, help me get one more” when he felt that he was almost dead spent in the rescue. No matter how terrified he was, he always smiled and said “Now I get you, it’ll be ok” when he approached the wounded just like he was God himself. It is cliché that human potential can be invoked in extreme situations, but that is especially in the case when someone firmly believes to be accompanied, supported, and given strength by a higher being than the world itself. By inheriting God in one’s heart, one becomes nearer to God.
Thanks for the analysis! I must confess I was not so positive but I appreciate the outlook. You mention that he was like God himself in his actions. With the damaged hands, and his position on the stretcher at the end of the film – do you think the film intentionally used Christ imagery in its depiction of Mr. Doss?
Sorry for browsing the blog late! Yes that was great observation, I didn’t think about that! I believe the position is definitely designed and the filmmakers probably thought the way you suggested. I kind of remember that the scene that he was on the stretcher was obviously intentionally slowed down–and there was all that light effects coming from him (his background actually). Good catch! Thanks!