The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Even in war, it's a matter of principle.
Presentation:
Considered one of the all time greats, this David Lean film seems to always be overshadowed by his magnum opus, Lawrence of Arabia. The Bridge on the River Kwai is also an epic though on a smaller scale, but is my preferred film for its more robust screenplay. You think you’ve seen it all, but this war film explores something so individually distinct from the others. It’s about honor, pride, morality, madness, but also presenting the emotional chaos in a smart way. Lean utilizes a very wide 2.55:1 anamorphic scope to highlight the vast length of the bridge, which is a marvel to see physically constructed in an age of no CGI. It’s close in nature to the scale and number of people in Kurosawa films making for great production value though a mixed bag of cinematography. The film is classical in style, front facing dialogue and visuals. The day for night is obvious and daytime scenes are also clearly artificially lit. The soldier is forced to drink river water pretending it’s not raining. But what makes these older films timeless isn’t their technical visuals, it’s the storytelling.
Conclusion:
It seems I am not alone in loving this film. Delving into the mind of prisoners of war, we see human nature from all sides. People are complex, or maybe just all mad? Despite an air of movie theatrics, there’s something deeply humanistic captured in this film that I was supposed to feel from Lawrence of Arabia. This should be the David Lean film to watch, whose voice and singular vision shines the most. The screenplay is what matters with replaceable actors not delivering particularly noteworthy performances. The story matters more than its actors, but sometimes scripts are constructed better this way. Even in war, it's a matter of principle.
Recommendations
Is it better to suffer injustice than do it?