"Madness... madness... "

Rating: 9/10 (18 May 2014)

I haven't seen David Lean's award-winning "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957) for so long that I forgot how great it is. It's not a conventional war film and therefore there's very little action; the "action" is mostly psychological. I remember watching it on TV a few times with my dad when I was about 7-12 years old and even then, with such little understanding of the world and its social workings, I was fascinated by the picture and knew it was great -- even then.
THE PLOT: A platoon of British soldiers are brought to a Japanese POW camp in Burma during World War II to help build a strategic railway bridge over the River Kwai. The Jap Colonel in charge of the camp, Saito, insists that the British officers work along with the enlisted men. The British Colonel, Nicholson, stubbornly objects to this based on the Geneva Convention, a copy of which he carries around in his pocket. He insists that there are rules to be followed, even in war. What ensues is a battle of wills between the two. Ultimately Nicholson is put in charge of building the bridge, which he takes so much pride in he fails to see that he's aiding the enemy. Meanwhile, an American sailor, Shears, escapes the camp and later leads a group of Brits on a mission to destroy the bridge.
Although Colonel Nicholson, played by Alec Guinness, is a fascinating character -- an ultra-proper stiff-upper-lip Brit -- and certainly worthy of respect as far as his utter boldness goes, he's what my dad would call a "goon." (My dad served during WWII and died in 1988). Nicholson is so infected by pride, stubbornness and a sense of superiority that he can't see the obvious. Yes, he's a realistic and fascinating character, but I find him to be a total moron who can't see the forest for the trees. It goes without saying that I can't relate to him at all.
Colonel Saito, the Japanese commander of the camp, ultimately accepts that it's in his best interest to allow Nicholson to believe he's running the show in order to get the bridge built. This is obviously a struggle for Saito because he has pride as well; but he refuses to allow it to get in the way of fulfilling his mission. 'Let Nicholson build the bridge and believe he's in charge and superior,' he seems to figure, 'In reality he's my pawn and a pawn of the Japanese military machine.' (Others may interpret this scenario differently, likely suggesting that Saito is the loser in the test of wills, moping around in bewildered defeat throughout the rest of the picture, but that's not what's really going on IMHO).
William Holden expertly plays Shears, the American who escapes the camp and comes back to attempt to destroy the bridge. He's the the character I relate to most. On the surface he appears completely selfish -- doing whatever he must to survive, including lying and bribing. Shears has lived with the madness of war the longest and naturally develops a sarcastic, anti-hero callousness to protect himself and survive with his sanity intact. Despite the negative, selfish vibe you get from Shears, he never loses his humanity. He refuses to become an inhuman machine like Nicholson or Major Warden (Jack Hawkins), the latter of whom leads the British mission to destroy the bridge.
For example, as Warden and his party travel through the jungle Warden becomes injured and insists that the rest leave him behind to die, arguing that he would do precisely the same if anyone else was injured. Shears blows up at this point; he's seen enough of this idiotic machine-like do-or-die mentality. He yells, "You make me sick with your heroics! ... You and Colonel Nicholson, you're two of a kind, crazy with courage. For what? How to die like gentlemen? How to die by the rules? When the only important thing is how to live like a human being!" As captivating as the first hour is with the psychological conflict between Nicholson and Saito, the remaining hour and 41 minutes is even more engaging as the two story lines develop and ultimately converge: Nicholson building the bridge and celebrating its completion, along with his now-comrade Saito, while Shears & Warden and their team travel to the bridge and attempt to implement it's destruction.
I just saw the film the other day but hadn't seen it for 8 years or so and I actually forgot exactly how it ended, as far as who dies, etc. Don't worry, I'm not going to give any major details away; you've probably forgotten the details as well, that is, if you've even seen it before. In any event, the ending is brilliant and potent. The Allied doctor of the camp looks on in utter disbelief at the climatic results. "Madness... madness..." is all he can manage to mutter. Powerful.
Needless to say, this is filmmaking of the highest order on every level. The Sri Lanka locations are breath-taking. The only negative I can muster is that parts of the score are understandably dated seeing as how it was released in 1957. But that whistling theme is hugely memorable, of course.
I could probably write a book about all the great scenes, lines and points the film makes but I'd rather you discover (or re-discover) everything for yourself. There's so much depth here that you'll get something new with each viewing. It goes without saying that "The Bridge on the River Kwai" is one of the best pictures ever made and one of my all-time favorites.
Grade: A