Collision of Cultures, Saving Face While Engineering a Bridge in the Jungle,under influence of what has come to be known as "the Stockholm Syndrome."

Rating: 10/10 (12 March 2009)

HAVING viewed THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (Horizon Pictures/Columbia, 1957) for the first time on the Telly as a 18 year old adolescent, the experience was not nearly as moving or as impressive that it would be some years later. This is due to several diverse, but equally compelling, causes.
FIRST of all, it was on Network TV, the American Broadcasting Company Television to be precise. The year was 1966, long before we would have referred to a Movie as 'Film'. Just about every one who had to be content with viewing the edited and commercially interrupted movie on the B & W Admiral, Zenith or Motorola that sat in the 'Fron Troom' (Chicago-ese word for Living Room; see also 'Front Room').
BEING so emotionally battered and culturally & economically deprived; one has to wonder how we ever made it through those dark days. (Ya know Schultz, we shoulda rioted!)
ALTHOUGH we paid little attention then to Directors, Producers and so forth, we did notice that it was from Columbia, the Stooges Home Studio. We made no connection between the KWAI Project and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (Horizon Pictures/Columbia, 1962) which claimed most of the same production team, including director, Sir David Lean.
ADDING to this disjointed view of their Cinematic Family Tree was the order in which the two were viewed; the latter film, LAWRENCE, was seen by our gang at the Highland Theatre, near 79th & Ashland Avenue, right here on Chicago's South Side, the "baddest part of town." This gave us a convoluted view of the two films time, not the period they were portraying, but rather of the real time of production and release.
NOW THEN, after many years of experience and 'wisdom building', we can state with a great deal of certainty that we can see the relationship of the two, make note of certain similarities in directorial style and overall impact.
ALTHOUGH the settings of the two are similar, in that both tell their stories of Warfare in Asia; one (BRIDGE) is a story of a World War II incident (based in fact) set in the Equatorial Rain Forests of Thailand; the other (LAWENCE) being a World War I Biopic taking place in the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula. The modern countries involved would be Syria, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
IT is obvious that Sir David is fond of War themes that are meticulously rendered and tendered to the screen in a matter-of-fact manner. Lean gives no simplistic characterizations of these World Conflicts and takes no sophomoric stands against the actions taken by the Soldier in the field; those being represented by the Pawn on the Chess board.
David LEAN has shown a propensity for working with certain actors in his products; a tendency shared with names such as: Hitchcock, Ford, Capra and many others. Shared and admired talents seem to be a good recipe for success. But there is one screen personality that gets no credits in the cast; yet appears to be one of those that David uses again and again with great success. That would be the great outdoors.
WHILE concentrating the action of the story in THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI is centered on the interaction, conflict, alliance and eventual mutual respect of Japanese Colonel Saito, Commandant of the Prisoner of War Forced Labor Camp (Mr. Sessile Hayakawa) with the Ranking Allied P.O.W., the British Colonel Nicholson (Sir Alec Guinness). The dynamics of the groups, both Captors and Captives, are determined by the conduct and integrity displayed by their respective Cox's. (That's "Commanding Officers" to you, Schultz)
THE COLLISION of not only personalities, but also that of Cultures, provides the motivational engine that moves the story along at a seemingly short 161 minutes running time. We are witness to the Hard Liner Saito and the Proper & BY-the-Book Nicholson being locked in a stalemate of both will and style; with the edge going to Nicholson; Saito being at the disadvantage of needing the aid and cooperation of the Brits in doing his assigned task of completing the construction of the Bridge within a certain period. As Saito explains to Nicholson, he (the Japanese Officer) would be expected to take his own life if he weren't successful.
THE SITUATIONS and their resulting outcomes are fine examples of two widely divergent psychological principalities; the first being that of "Saving Face", the other called "The Stockholm Syndrome."
IN THE FIRST case, Colonel Saito has taken extreme measures in order to convince ranking Allied Officer, Colonel Nicholson to allow his officers to perform manual labor, in violation of the Articles of the Geneva Convention. After a lengthy stay in the metal "Sweat BOX", the British Officer is taken to the Commandant's hut and told that ".in honor of our (The Japanese) anniversary of victory in Asia, we will not require your officers to perform labor." This is a perfect example of "Saving Face" on Saito's part.
SECONDLY, the very intense Colonel Nicholson gets so caught up in constructing a fine bridge, that he loses sight of the reality of which side he is on and finds himself working against the demolition of the wooden structure by Allied Forces; being Jack Hawkins, William Holden and four Thai Women Guides! (Woo, woo, woo, woo!) This is classic "Stockholm Syndrome".
DIRECTOR LEAN is not above reusing a plot gimmick. Much in the same manner that Michael Curtiz reprised the gimmick of having contending groups singing opposing songs as in DODGE CITY (Warner Brothers,1939) with "Marching Through Georgia" vs. "Dixie", to CASABLANCA (Warners, 1942) pitting "Watch On The Rhine" (German) vs. "Les Marseilles" (French). Sir David uses not song, but rather in the use of spontaneous outbreaks of mass cheering and congratulations by the enlisted men in both THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA.(Four Stars)
POODLE SCHNITZ!!