I went into the film concerned that it was going to have a morally righteous lecture within, or that it would look down on people who were less religious. I was pleasantly surprised by the end of the movie that it can simply be interpreted as the story of an individual who did something extraordinary. The main character was clearly influenced by his religion which affected the way that he performed in war. Along with this, naturally, there are plenty of interpretations that do revolve around his religious beliefs and the ways they controlled and affected his life. Personally, I found their constant emphasis a little bit forced. Far be it from me to say what he believed in real life, but every time it came up I found myself a little taken out of the story. I understand that they wanted religion to be a key point but it felt very forced when his father confronted him and that the war wouldn’t fit with his “Ideas”. Perhaps they could’ve spent more time setting up the specifics of his religious beliefs, at least at first they come as a surprise. I really admire his resolution in his beliefs and I think if they had aimed the movie more on his accomplishment and how he achieved it, perhaps the importance of his religion would come more naturally. While I don’t personally agree with him, I think it’s a shame that so many of the conflicts and interactions relating to his beliefs tend to take you out of the movie when they’re interesting and clearly important.