Bridge On The River Kwai

Apparently, my ENTIRE class despises this film. People were discussing a film switch, they were falling asleep, and all in all utterly uninterested in this film which has won 7 Oscars. According to my friend, "That must have been the only film made that year." And another, "They must have given Oscars to anyone back then." HA. I did laugh. I laughed for two reasons. Firstly, because they are actually very funny people and what they were saying was in fact amusing. However, I also laughed at the absurdity.

I understand that the genre may not be everyone's cup of tea. You have to have a specific taste to enjoy a war film, especially one like this. However, even if everything about the movie is awful, at least I would have thought that as mature film critics they would admire the enormous amounts of effort that went into filming it, considering it had absolutely no special effects. It was shot on location, and everyone we see sitting in our seats is exactly what the director saw as he watched the actors perform. To me, that is extremley cool (for lack of a better word).

Besides that, and fo reasons that even I could not tell you, I love war movies. For some unexplainable reason they draw my interest. I also like war novels, so maybe there is some correlation there. I'll have to look into that. But watching the story unfold of British and American soldiers captured in Japanese camps as Prisoners of War, in my opinion, is a captivating plot. These men are being demorilized, physically and mentally weakened by the day, and I enjoy seeing how people fight to survive. Watching movies about people who don't give up and drive themselves to fight on and succeed absolutely amazes me. If I walk away from a movie inspired, the director has done his job. The actors have done their job. The crew has done their job. The movie is phenomenal.

So far, although I have only viewed two days of Kwai, I feel empowered. Col. Nichelson has already defeated the opressor, and an American has already escaped. The former stuck to his morlas and beliefs and withstood what can only be considered torture in order to adhere to not just his country, but his troops who need strength. A Col. who understands that his men are in danger of falling victim to emotional defeat and risks his own life is an outstanding figure, and nothing short of a hero. The fact that this movie in only an hour has relayed this message on to me renders the movie outstanding as well.

I will catch up at the conclusion of this movie and give you my final opinions. Hopefully this film now lives up to the high expectations it has set for me. I also hope my friends change their mind and see the beauty in the movie.