ZhankforThe Bridge on the River Kwai (David Lean, 1957)
The Bridge on the River Kwai is both a famous book, which I read and enjoyed in High School, and a very famous film by famous epic filmmaker David Lean. A common thread in this marathon seems to be history. History is, of course, my favorite subject, and is going to be my career, so it does not amaze me that all of these favorite films are historically based. History, I have always felt, is just one long story, and that is why I love it so much, and also why I love movies so much: I love stories! And what a story this is.
You have the British POWs from World War II in Burma helping the Japanese build a very important strategic bridge over the River Kwai. What’s not to love? You have the common British defeatist thread: a bunch of captured guys taking pride in being prisoners and taking pride in their duty as soldiers to their King, their commander, and their captor commander. Now, you can make fun of the British all you want, and I’ll admit, that is kind of what I was doing there, but the fact of the matter is that they are very noble in general, and do have a great pride in their country and their duty and it is a very admirable trait. It comes trough in this film and is a great thing to see unfold as they race to meet the deadline of building the bridge, even when it means starting over because the location the Japanese chose sucked.
David Lean, Oliver Twist notwithstanding, is a director that I very much respect and have always enjoyed watching whatever he has to offer. The Bridge on the River Kwai is no different. The performances, the cinematography, the feel of the movie are all spectacular. I guess my one gripe would be the length, which Lean is known for having long films. But in this case there were moments here and there that were unable to hold my attention and I felt that was because it was such a long film. This, again, is something that I will wish to revisit in the future so that my appreciation of it might grow and grow.