I’m not gonna say this is the best movie ever. It’s good. Damn good. It’s old-school though, and takes its time, quite methodically in that respect, and deservedly so. But at least it’s in color. And beautifully shot. You want yourselves a legit kinda-war flick, without alls the blowins up and gunfire? There’s some of that, but This is a solid drama.
1943. British prisoners of war of the Japans, used as manual labor to build a bridge to help their war effort. A distinct clash of cultures makes the whole endeavor go difficultly. A captured, very proper and principled British officer vs a Japanese Colonel tasked with the build. There’s deadlines. There’s frustrations. There’s beriberi, which apparently is like scurvy, but worse? I would avoid. Then there’s the will of two men against each other, and both the havoc and the order that it brings as they will it out.
It’s hard to condense this one into a short, non-spoilerific review. I can go over the plot points that play out, in rather fine fashions, btw, but honestly it would do a disservice to the film. I wrote a lot of notes for this one, but I can’t use most of ‘em. Alec “Obi-Wan Kenobi” Guinness (the O.G. one, not the Trainspotting one) is the British officer who will not bend, because there’s rules, dammit! His captoor Colonel Saito is his mirror on the other side of the battle. It is the fight of honor between the two, with the prisoners being the unwitting tools as the struggle to build a bridge unfolds. Fantastic role here as well by William Holden, an American POW who has his own game playing out. This is a fine look at choices, consequences, and realizations. And, a lotta kinda kick-ass Saigonese woman. Huh!
