Angelina Jolie fires an early warning shot to her fellow Oscar contenders with the new trailer for Unbroken, her inspirational biopic of Olympic runner and World War II prisoner-of-war Louis Zamperini.

Zamperini was a child of the globalizing 20th century. Born to Italian-immigrant parents, he became famous on the world stage (and even caught Hitler’s eye) at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Just a few years later, Zamperini joined the Air Force as a bombardier and was captured by Japanese forces as a prisoner of war.

Relative newcomer Jack O’Connell plays Zamperini and cuts a near-elvin figure as a scrawny underdog who could endure the most brutal circumstances of war.

Unbroken is scripted by the Coen brothers and will open Christmas Day 2014.

Previously: Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken Gets Olympic Preview