Superbly crafted, but...

Rating: 7/10 (4 June 2007)

It doesn't take too long for the soldiers in The Bridge on the River Kwai to start whistling their famous tune. This is essentially a story about the battle of wills. There is actually four wills that come into play, the will of the demanding Japanese prison commander, the law-and-order British colonel, the rebellious American and the other law-and-order British officer/commando. The setup is that the British colonel embraces the task to build the titular bridge as a moral building task for his imprisoned troops and a way to break the will of their Japanese captors. On the other hand, the American and some British commandos vow to destroy said bridge.
This film is very highly regarded by the American Film Institute, critics love it and even the masses of internet users on IMDb.com give it high regard. So I think I went into this film with higher expectations than I should have. It didn't help that director David Lean is also well known and regarded for his historical epics. I liked Lawrence of Arabia, which followed this film, so I figured I'd like this one as much.
Well, I still like it. Upon reflecting on it, I like how the story takes a war situation and creates a battle of wills, rather than weapons. I also like that main conflict is not between Axis and Allies, but between two different philosophies (or, you might even say the same philosophy) between the Allies. I like the epic direction and the acting is very good. The colors and the sets, etc. are all superb as well. But, beyond being a story very well told, I can't really say that I found the piece particularly moving, intellectually, emotionally or viscerally.
The story, as well plotted as it is, seems to lack the human element that gets further mined in Lawrence of Arabia. It's not very personal and although we learn bits about the characters, they are rather simple and static, which could be fatal flaws, but it doesn't convince me of anything or make me feel like I'm watching real human beings. And I suppose that's my main criticism, there is some noticeable feeling of artifice in the whole matter.
But otherwise, it's a very well done work and entertaining as well. I can't love it, but I can say that it's a decent show, if you have over two and a half hours to watch it. 7/10.