The Bridge on the River Kwai

Starring: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa
Directed by: David Lean
Rating: PG
Genre: Action, Drama, War
1957

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: In a Japanese POW camp, a British officer (Alec Guinness) starts an ambitious project to build a bridge across the Kwai. Unknown to him, British and American allies are planning to destroy the bridge once it's completed.

Review:

Tim: The Bridge on the River Kwai can certainly be a polarizing movie. It features historical inaccuracies, and can be viewed as depicting British officers somewhat unfavorably (although I personally didn't see it). This is a complex, fascinating war movie, and a truly great film. I like that it has some edges to it and makes you debate its merit. I found the film excellently crafted, memorable, and overall, an extremely strong movie.

The historical inaccuracies are the first issue we must deal with. The real bridge(s) build over the river Kwai are quite different than the events depicted in this film. They took significantly longer to build, and stood significantly longer than depicted in this film. They were ultimately destroyed in an aerial bombing. The real-life individuals upon which these characters are based are also quite different than the way they come across in this film. If you're looking for a true life story, this movie certainly is not it. The movie should be penalized somewhat for these rife historical inaccuracies. However, if you can go into this movie realizing it's a work of fiction that is only loosely based on actual events, it shouldn't hurt your viewing experience too greatly.

Looking at the film from a fictional, entertainment perspective, the movie is truly great. It feels epic in its length, but also feels surprisingly intimate as well. The story is about British soldiers held captive by the Japanese in Burma. The early scenes set the stage that this isn't an ideal POW camp, but there are certainly freedoms as well. The film changes pace when the British decide to build the bridge, but to do it the British way. Those moments are pretty exciting to watch, as you marvel at the focus on creating in the midst of so much destruction all around them. The movie also features an incredibly nerveracking, thrilling finale.

The cast is quite strong. Alec Guinness gives the best performance of the film. He is amazing in this movie. I loved his performance from the first shot of him to the final shot he's in. He just makes Colonel Nicholson come to life. He is a proud, stubborn man who is not afraid to suffer for his ideals. And yet, his ideals can get him into trouble, as well. He is a fascinating character and the most interesting one of the entire movie. Guinness gives one of those performances where it's hard to tear your eyes away from him. I'm glad that he won the Academy Award for Best Actor- he deserved it.

William Holden was pretty good, too. He was a big movie star at the time this film came out. It's always a bit surprisingly to me that he's not more fondly remembered today. The guy could certainly act. He gives a good performance in this film, but he's just over shadowed by Guinness. I wouldn't say Holden was great, but he turns in a solid effort. It was even harder for him to stand out because his character was never the most interesting one on screen. I also want to highlight Sessue Hayakawa, who made the antagonist, Colonel Saito a multi-dimensional, thought-provoking character. He's not the typical cardboard cutout bad guy. I enjoyed his performance, especially the quiet, alone moments where he is able to communicate so much without saying a great deal. I suppose I'm glad he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, although he represented the only loss for the film (it won 7 out of 8 awards it was up for). Still, the cast as a whole is quite good.

I loved some of the deeper themes present in this movie. The chief one is the dualism of the British troops taking pride in their ability to create something beautiful, impressive, and lasting with their bridge over the river Kwai, with the destruction of the war all around them. Even though they are technically helping the enemy, it's fascinating to watch the reasoning and the pride taken in their labors. When the bridge is set to be destroyed, this creates an interesting dilemma. The character of Nicholson best embodies this struggle, and Guinness makes that quite apparent. The film is also about not backing down from your principles, even when the punishment may be severe. I really liked some of these deeper aspects to the film.

The Bridge on the River Kwai also features one of the most memorable, exciting climaxes in movie history. I was surprised how tense the situation got near the end. It's a complex, engaging ending that makes you question the actions of nearly all the main characters. The final scenes are unforgettable- I don't think I will ever lose those images leading up to the final words of the film, which sum it all up- "Madness!" "Madness!"

This is one of the best war movies ever made, and one of the all time classics. It won the Academy Award for Best Picture (as well as Cinematography, Director, Film Editing, Musical Score, Adapted Screenplay, and the aforementioned Actor). It deserved all those awards. It is certainly a long movie, but that contributes to the epic, sweeping feel of it. I am certainly a big fan of this classic war movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: A Bridge Too Far, Saving Private Ryan