Review of The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) by Ryan H — 10 Mar 2008

Ok so I am going through a bit of a David Lean phase, mostly because I prefer to go through old films via great directors (makes things a bit easier to manage mentally). While many will always know Alec Guinness as the wise Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars, it was far and wide not his best performance, too which I will now say Bridge on the River Kwai was. Holden is great as the difiant yet knowledgeable american POW who escapes and must return to destroy the bridge. Hayakawa is perfect as the troubled Japanese POW camp torn between his distaste for the POWs and his desire to get the bridge built. Though neither of these come close to the power of each line and movement by Alec. The story of Alec's character is quite fascinating as we watch this British Colonel go from a man who wants to build a bridge to see his troups come together, too a man who has built a bridge to see it only for himself. While his intentions are good the character Nicholson is so complex it could take ages to truley understand him.

Then we have Lean's skillful hands behind the camera, aiding the actors in bringing out every element of their performance. From their simple bodily movements to the power with which they deliver each line. Now while the story is "inspired" by real events don't be overly persuaded that this is the true account of what happened. In fact it is far from it, but unlike films such as Battle of the Bulge the film really never pretends as if this is what happened on any level and in fact is far more concerned with just telling its story. A true classic of a film that lives up to every bit of the hype that surrounds it, and maybe even a little bit more.