This year marks the 75th anniversary of VJ Day, when Japan’s surrender brought the Second World War to an end.

Mel Gibson’s superb drama tells the incredible true story of Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield), a conscientious objector whose bravery at the Battle of Okinawa saved the lives of 75 men despite refusing to carry or use a firearm of any kind.

The movie is split into three main parts. Firstly the young Doss growing up in Lynchburg, Virginia, who after accidentally nearly killing his brother and witnessing his mothers abuse at the hands of his violent alcoholic father, vows never to take a life in line with his Seventh-day Adventist Christian upbringing.

Fifteen years later he meets and falls in love with his sweetheart, local nurse Dorothy Schutte (Teresa Palmer) and enlists in the Army with the intention of serving as a combat medic. In his own words “with the world so set on tearing itself apart, it don’t seem like such a bad thing to me to want to put a little bit of it back together”.

The midsection shows Doss take up basic military training where he excels physically but is soon outcast by his fellow soldiers for his refusal to handle a rifle. Accused of cowardice, beaten up and subjected to an attempted section 8 discharge for mental instability, Doss holds firm to his beliefs and will not buckle.

The third and final instalment shows Doss and his unit deployed to the Pacific theatre and assigned to the 77th Infantry Division. After retreating under heavy attack from the Japanese, Doss returns to the field of battle alone and hearing the cries of dying soldiers sets about rescuing them and lowering them by rope, one by one, from a cliffs edge to the safety of his unit below. His mantra throughout the night as he battles exhaustion “Please Lord, help me get one more”. A second assault is launched and victory is secured at Okinawa which proved pivotal for the allies.

For his courage under fire, Private Desmond Doss became the first conscientious objector to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Garfield gives a career best performance as Desmond Doss and was cast after Gibson saw him in ‘The Social Network’ and was convinced he was the right actor for the part.

Premiering at the Venice Film Festival ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ received a 10 minute standing ovation and went on to receive 6 academy award nominations.

Mel Gibson’s film is a triumph for all involved, a truly inspiring story and a testament to the strength and courage of the human spirit.