Despite this helping the Japanese, they build the bridge properly.īut this is not the end of the matter, not by a long shot- the bridge is a symbol of so much that is wrong with the war, it is a symbol of power and destruction, of hope and despair and ultimately death. They now have to build a proper bridge built to British standards. Based on a 1952 French novel by Pierre Boulle, the film features an unhinged British POW commander Captain Nicholson (Alec Guinness) who takes such pride in British technical expertise that he cooperates with the Japanese commander Saito in building a. He says the bridge is wrong and is in the right place. The fame of the bridge is due to the 1957 film by David Lean, The Bridge on the River Kwai. However the British officer is a perfectionist and is horrified by the bad work his men have done. Those who do work on the railway ensure they do the least work possible and try to sabotage the overall build. The leading officer claims that prisoners can not be used as labourers but those who refuse are tortured or killed

They are effectively helping the Japanese in their effort to overrun and therefore control Asia. They are told that they will be used to build the bridge over the River Kwai so the trains can get supplies to the Japanese armies in Burma. Ive got to say, this is one of those movies that lives up to its reputation. I recently saw the Bridge on the River Kwai on 4K. One of those cases where the Academy got it right and awarded Best Picture to a film that deserved it. British soldiers are captured and kept as prisoners of war in a Japanese camp. The Bridge over the River Kwai (French: Le Pont de la rivière Kwaï) is a novel by the French novelist Pierre Boulle, published in French in 1952 and English translation by Xan Fielding in 1954. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1958) is a MONUMENTAL film.

Bridge on the river kwai novel