An Engrossing Drama With Memorable Characters

Rating: Null/10 (16 September 2004)

The unusual setting, conflict of wills, and memorable characters make "The Bridge on the River Kwai" a worthwhile and engrossing drama despite some shortcomings. It would be hard to top the performances by Alec Guinness and William Holden, as two of the three main characters. (Sessue Hayakawa also has a couple of good scenes, although much of the time he is saddled with an unrewarding and rather thankless role.) Their portrayals and David Lean's direction make the movie work on a level far above the quality of the story itself. The story's historical distortions and implausible turns, which would have been fatal in a production of lesser quality, are concealed most of the time by the high quality of the other elements of the film.
Besides the good work by the cast, the remote setting and the tense story make all of it but a handful of slower stretches intriguing and satisfying. There is so much quality here that it seems a bit unfortunate that the story could not have been more true to the historical setting, rather than relying so much on developments and motivations that, while dramatically effective, are historically doubtful. There are also some implausible stretches that, though carried off well enough by the cast, were not really necessary. While most viewers probably won't mind them anyway, both of these are a little too plain to avoid being noticed.
As a movie, though, this is an absorbing story with strong production values and some fine scenes, and it is certainly well worth seeing.