Search - Malcolm Arnold, Various Artists :: Bridge on River Kwai

Whistle (and go mad) while you work

Mike Stone | 07/30/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If someone had the inclination, "Bridge on the River Kwai" could have been divided into two very respectable movies. The first, concerning a group of British prisoners of war charged with erecting the title piece, would have been a neat little psychological drama and character study starring Alec Guinness and Sessue Hayakawa. The second, an action-adventure thriller, would follow William Holden, accompanied by Jack Hawkins, as they braved the harsh Asian jungle in a plot to blow up said title piece. Each movie, as I see them in my own head, would have their fair share of suspense, action, snappy dialogue, intriguing characters, and powerful narrative thrust. Each would have been a critical success, a popular smash, and an enduring classic. However, they are not two movies. They are one cohesive whole. And here the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.David Lean skillfully weaves these the two narrative threads together. Even with a 160 minute running time, Lean never wastes a moment. Everything leads to something else, and it is always entertaining. Lean is that rare director who has a firm handle on both the visual and narrative elements of his films. He reigns both in here with considerable skill, only showing what the audience needs to see, and what he wants them to see.As in most war movies, madness is a theme that runs rampant. Each of the main characters has dipped into some sort of madness, which manifests itself in four unique and intriguing ways.Guinness is Col. Nicholson, a by the book British officer. He carries around a copy of the Geneva Convention, and expects his Japanese captors, isolated for many months in the jungle, to adhere to them. Guinness' greatest work here is in portraying Nicholson's stubbornness in the face of grave danger, and his pride in a job well done. It could have been a showy role in the hands of a lesser actor, as there is a temptation to externalize Nicholson's crumble from sanity. Guinness is subtle beyond the call of duty (even in his physical portrayal; one moment has him, after a long stint imprisoned in an oven-like box, paraded in front of his men. Catch Nicholson trying to march with military precision on legs terrorized by atrophy. It is a heartbreaking, and heroic, moment).Colonel Saito, played by Hayakawa, is a man caught in a most unenviable position. In the beginning, he appears to be holding all the cards. But as we soon see, he is as much a pawn as the prisoners he's captured, indebted as much to his superiors as to his honour of duty. The problem with the character of Colonel Saito, and really the only hole in the whole film, is that he is supposed to be a menacing character. But we never see him be menacing; we have to rely on the word of Commander Shears. A scene of him killing in cold blood would have gone a long way later on, when his transition to Guinness' subordinate would have been even more powerful.Major Warden, played by Hawkins, comes late to the story, but has much to say about how the second half will play out. He too is controlled by a sense of British duty, but his madness exhibits itself in a less controlled way. Warden, who's spent most of his time playing war games in a tropical paradise of a base, expects his mission to be a walk in the park. The horrors he encounters (both physical and psychological) are unexpected and hit him much harder than the others. Hawkins, as both the English gentleman and the tormented soldier, does a fine job.Holden plays probably the most intriguing character. His Commander Shears has lived with his madness the longest, and has developed an ironic anti-hero callus to shield himself from the horrors. We first see him digging graves for his fallen comrades, of which he is the last to survive. From there, his situation gets much worse. Shears adopts a mocking tone when confronting his superiors, parakeeting their catch phrases ("When you're done, there's always one more thing to do"; "Be happy in your work") to the point of ridiculing them. And even when he manages to escape the physical prison, he manages to get drawn back there against his will.The prevailing madness of the film comes to a head in the end as Major Clipton, the camp's doctor and arguably the only character not afflicted by insanity up to this point (and probably my favourite character), has a Conrad-like epiphany. It's a moment that rivals Kurtz' "The horror! The horror!" from "Heart of Darkness" and "Kwai's" war-movie progeny "Apocalypse Now".Even though many of its themes are psychological, it's no surprise why "Kwai" became both a popular and critical success. It has all the elements of a grand classic: an all-star cast, tight suspense, lush scenery, humour, drama, finely drawn characters, intense action, and well-scripted dialogue. And of course, there's the great whistling scene; nothing better than a bright melody to cut through the horrors of war. It's a charming little scene that both brings a smile to your face and warns of tough times ahead."

What have I done?

Scorpio69 | Hawaii, America's Paradise | 11/28/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There really aren't enough superlatives to describe the beauty, power and human drama in this film. The restoration is magnificent, the photography beautiful and the story compelling. Sessue Hayakawa gives a masterful performance as Colonel Saito; easily the most complex portrayal of any Japanese person in WWII movie history. He is completely unable to understand the British sense of honor, since being taken prisoner in the Japanese mindset is the ultimate dishonor. Yet he is also unable to deny that he and his own officers are simply not competent enough to tackle the task at hand, namely to build a railway bridge across the River Kwai -- and do so under a non-negotiable deadline. To fail this task would cause his own public dishonor, yet to yield to the contest of wills with Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness), whom he desperately needs to build the bridge, would cause him to suffer a loss of face and deep personal dishonor -- a Hobson's choice. Alec Guinness is simply brilliant in his role -- and simply British. On one level he is the quintessential British colonial master, out to "teach these people a lesson...that will put them to shame". His pride allows him to convince himself that building the bridge is nothing more than a morale booster for his men -- never mind that it furthers the Japanese war effort. He reasons that since he was ordered to surrender that to then refuse to do his captor's bidding might be considered tantamount to insubordination. But beyond doing what is merely necessary, he becomes obsessed with building a bridge that will last hundreds of years. In reality he is constructing a monument to himself, since he is now in the twilight of his military career. William Holden gives a wonderful performance as Shears, the only American to witness this contest of wills. He is much more interested in living "like a human being" and avoiding any military duty than dying for such a twisted sense of "honor". However, though, circumstances dictate that he become the proverbial reluctant hero. There are so many other outstanding touches and performances in this film that to describe them all would take more time than it would to simply watch it. In this case, one picture is truly worth a thousand words. See this movie."