Review of The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) by Omar L — 07 May 2011

This is almost too huge, too epic to sum up. It's hard to believe this film came out in 1957, but I suppose like all great art there's some of it that will always be timeless. This World War II film is a work of fiction inspired by true events. Under Japanese rule a British Colonel and his men are POW's and they've been tasked to build a bridge. The Colonel played by Alec Guinness who won an Academy Award for the part sees the bridge as a symbol of pride and uses it as a way to instill morale and discipline in his men, but all the while he starts to lose focus on the bigger picture. His Japanese peer is a man who just wants the bridge built and sees it as nothing more. It's fascinating to watch these characters interact and develop within the plot. Another rich character played by William Holden is an American Sailor who wants nothing to do with the war, but no matter how hard he tries he seems to be thrust to the forefront of it all.

There's more than a few beautiful scenes that resonate past the surface with strong symbolic messages coming across to the viewer and they manage to be very touching as well. Watching this for the first time in 2011 it's easy for me to see how this won 7 Academy Awards to include best picture. Director David Lean went on to make several classic epics to included Laurence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, and A Passage to India. This is a classic in every sense of the word. 10/10 from me.

"One day the war will be over. And I hope that the people that use this bridge in years to come will remember how it was built and who built it. Not a gang of slaves, but soldiers, British soldiers..." -Colonel Nicholson.