Review of The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) by Henrik S — 05 Dec 2011

Under a tolerable but sickening layer of patriotism and male pornotopian fantasy lies an interesting character study, a lush adventurous drama and a mammoth production that could have gone terribly wrong but didn't.

The Bridge on the River Kwai is notorious for its production related issues, writers being blacklisted by the US, studios refusing to cooperate, actors throwing tantrums and David Lean almost dying, but the film turned out one of those monumental epics that Lean was in the habit of churning out.

The film's story is interesting, starts out as a duel of courage and principle between Guinness and Hayakawa but ends up being a contemplation on the idea of what it means of being a solider and a human, what duty means, courage, pride, freedom and all the rest. Alec Guinness gives a great performance although the role seems to be an easy fit for him, as he himself had to admit prior to shooting but that does not make it a less fascinating performance to behold. William Holden (the forgotten superstar of Golden Hollywood) and Jack Hawkins play Americans and as usual, the stereotypicalisation of the American GIs is rather blatant but still entertaining. The film makes away with conventions of mainstream cinema and the climax is truly astonishing, especially for a 1957 film and that earns my respect.

The production is well done and if you happen to catch the making-of on the Blu Ray release or the Internet, it is quiet the story to tell. The filming location (Ceylon) is a good backdrop and reminds me of later anti-war masterpieces like Apocalypse Now or Platoon, the scorching heat, the downtrodden masses and the endless jungle. Lean's direction is good craftsmanship and while he never was a visionary himself, he had an eye for a good shot and pacing. To me, he was a better editor than director, because his style is very unobtrusive but you feel entertained an don't know why.

The downsides are - of course - the patriotism that is laid on a bit too heavy for my taste, but that is Hollywood for you, nothing to be done about that, it is a shame that there are not more interesting Japanese characters apart from Col. Saito in the film, just to show the humane side of the 'enemy', instead of making them mute cannon-fodder or bumbling zombies. And as you would expect by the thoroughly perverted world of Golden Age Hollywood, the film throws in a random blonde bombshell and a bunch of obedient Asian sex slaves too - everyone is happy. Those are flaws that are easy to overlook and it is apparent that most of these are just the studio's input to cash in on the audience's patriotism, so just ignore it.

All in all, a very good anti-war epic with Guinness in great form and gorgeous pictures as well as a climax that needs to be seen to be believed.