Big Screen, Big Crucibles: Three Lessons For Turning Trials into Triumph

Big Screen, Big Crucibles: Three Lessons For Turning Trials into Triumph

by Gary Schneeberger

July 31, 2025

Our Beyond the Crucible summer podcast series, BIG SCREEN, BIG CRUCIBLES, has explored (and will continue exploring for another month) the ways in which powerful films can inspire and equip us to overcome adversity.

Each movie we chose for the series presents characters facing high-stakes hardships – crucibles, in our parlance – and emerging stronger because they leaned into the lessons those setbacks and failures taught them. Let’s take a deeper-dive look into three of those movies and the insights they offer us to not let our worst day define us.

Unbroken – The Power of Perseverance

In Unbroken, the dramatization of Louis Zamperini’s remarkable true story, we see him endure unbelievable hardships during World War II without giving up. Zamperini survives a plane crash and 47 days adrift at sea, only to be captured and tortured in a Japanese prison camp. Yet through every beatdown and desperate low, he refuses to let his captors defeat his will. He refuses to be broken.

What keeps Zamperini going under such crushing circumstances? One key is his mindset. He clings to a simple motto taught by his brother: “If you can take it, you can make it.” This phrase becomes his lifeline during captivity, a reminder that endurance itself is victory.

At one point, a fellow prisoner encourages Louis that “We can beat them by making it to the end of the war alive” – meaning their triumph will come through outlasting the torment with sheer endurance. This outlook turns survival into a form of resistance. Zamperini’s persevering attitude – take it and make it – allows him to withstand horrendous torture and deprivation without losing hope.

Perhaps most importantly, Unbroken shows that perseverance is not a one-time choice but a daily discipline. There are moments when Louis is on the brink of despair, yet he finds strength in remembering his purpose (like returning home with honor) and the people rooting for him. Each day he survives is a day he “wins” against his captors.

In our own lives, few of us will face trials as extreme as Zamperini’s WWII ordeal. But the principle of perseverance applies to any crucible we encounter – be it a health battle, career setback or personal loss. Perseverance means refusing to quit even when circumstances are painfully hard. It means getting up one more time than we fall, holding on a little longer, and believing that if we can endure today, we can find a better tomorrow.

Louis Zamperini’s story illustrates that maintaining hope and grit through hardship can ultimately lead to triumph. His unbroken spirit invites us to ask: What challenges in my life require the “never give up” attitude? If we can foster that kind of resilience, we too can emerge from our trials stronger and unbroken.

Rudy – Never Give Up on Your Dream

The film follows Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, a working-class young man whose one big dream is to play football for the University of Notre Dame. It’s a goal as audacious as it is unlikely – Rudy is undersized, lacks natural athletic ability and doesn’t have the grades or money to get into Notre Dame. Friends, family and practically everyone tell him it’s impossible. In fact, the people closest to Rudy often discourage him from pursuing that dream. His father gently but firmly urges him to abandon the “crazy” idea; his older brother mocks him for aiming too high.

Yet Rudy refuses to quit. His unwavering determination in the face of naysayers is the heartbeat of the movie. He works grueling jobs and studies relentlessly at a junior college (after multiple rejections from Notre Dame) to earn admission. Even when others laugh at him, Rudy keeps his eye on the goal.

In time, that dogged persistence pays off – Rudy transfers to Notre Dame, makes the practice squad for the football team and after two years of being pummeled by bigger, faster players, he finally earns a chance to dress for one game in 1975. In the film’s emotional finale (based, like Unbroken, on a true story), Rudy gets in for one play and records a quarterback sack as the stadium erupts in chants of his name. It’s a brief moment of glory, but it represents years of sweat and an indomitable spirit.

One of the most powerful messages in Rudy is how he handles doubt and discouragement. Rather than internalize the skepticism of others, Rudy uses it as fuel to push harder. He proves that even if no one else believes in your dream, you owe it to yourself to believe.

The takeaway for us is straightforward: don’t give up on your dreams, even if the world tells you to. Whatever your “Notre Dame” is – a career goal, a personal project, a life ambition – if it truly matters to you, if it will fuel your life of significance, keep pursuing it with all the grit you can muster. Yes, be prepared for obstacles and doubters; as Rudy shows, the path to a dream is often anchored in frustration and tribulation.

But Rudy’s story confirms that persistence can turn the tide. In real life, just as in the reel life of the movie, you may find that the journey is long and hard – but the victory, when it comes, will be that much more meaningful and impactful because of all the struggles you overcame.

Rudy’s hard-won triumph urges each of us to ask: What dream have I put on hold, and how can I start pursuing it despite the obstacles? Your dream may not be easy, but as Rudy would remind us, it’s worth every ounce of effort. Never quit – the next try might be the one that makes the difference.

Les Miserables – The Fuel of Forgiveness

Unlike the physical battles of Unbroken or Rudy, the central crucible in Les Misérables is a moral and emotional one: former prisoner Jean Valjean’s struggle to overcome hatred, guilt and the relentless punishment of society. His journey illustrates how forgiving others – and ourselves – can break the chains of the past and light a path to redemption.

When we first meet Valjean, he is hardened by years of unjust imprisonment and rejection. Fate, however, puts him at the mercy of Bishop Myriel, a kindly clergyman. In a pivotal scene, Valjean, desperate and bitter, steals silver from the bishop and is caught by police. It seems he’s doomed to return to prison. But in an act of stunning mercy, the bishop lies to save Valjean, insisting the silver was a gift – and even gives him two additional silver candlesticks. He tells Valjean he has “bought [his] soul for God,” urging him to use the silver to become an honest man.

This moment of mercy hits Valjean like a thunderbolt. Overwhelmed by such undeserved grace, he undergoes a profound change of heart. He chooses to start anew, eventually building a life of significance as a virtuous businessman and mayor under a new identity. Les Misérables shows that being forgiven can free a person to redefine themselves for the better – for themselves and for society. Valjean learns to forgive himself for his past as he experiences the healing power of another’s compassion.

Forgiveness in Les Misérables is not portrayed as easy or soft; it’s portrayed as revolutionary and deeply powerful. Later in the story, Valjean has a chance to take revenge on his longtime pursuer, Inspector Javert – a rigid policeman who has hounded Valjean for decades for breaking parole. In the midst of a political uprising, Javert is captured and his fate put in Valjean’s hands. Rather than settle the score, Valjean surprises Javert by sparing his life and letting him go free.

Javert, who lives by the law with zero mercy, is thrown off by this act of forgiveness – it becomes his crucible to bear. In fact, he finds Valjean’s mercy so unthinkable that he cannot reconcile it with his worldview – tragically, Javert ends his own life because he is unable to live with the implications of such radical mercy.
The lesson for us is that forgiveness can be a path to liberation. When we forgive someone who hurt us – or forgive ourselves for mistakes – we release the crippling hold of anger, bitterness and guilt. Valjean’s life shows that forgiveness isn’t about excusing wrong or forgetting pain; it’s about not letting those wrongs and pains define our future. By forgiving, Valjean breaks a cycle of hatred and becomes a force for good, caring for Cosette (the orphaned daughter of one of his former factory workers, Fantine) and spreading love wherever he can.

Forgiveness turns his trial into triumph – the grave trials (imprisonment, poverty, persecution) forge in Valjean a spirit of compassion that lights up many other lives. Meanwhile, Javert’s fate is a cautionary tale: an inability to forgive or accept grace leaves one stuck. Forgiveness – difficult as it may be – is often the only way to move forward. It doesn’t mean forgetting or condoning harm, but rather refusing to let the hurt dictate our lives any longer.

Ultimately, Les Misérables teaches that practicing mercy and forgiveness can lead to personal freedom and healing. Whether it’s forgiving someone who wronged you or extending compassion to yourself, letting go of bitterness unlocks the possibility of new beginnings. Ask yourself: Is there someone I need to forgive – including myself? By choosing forgiveness, you’re not letting the offender off the hook as much as freeing your own heart from the weight of hatred. It is, as the film shows, the key to turning misery into hope. In our crucibles of life, forgiveness can be the bridge from trial to triumph.