The Japanese army has imprisoned the British army during the world war two. The Japanese commandant Colonel Saito is given the responsibility of building a bridge for the train to connect two major places that will give Japan an upper hand in the war. But, Saito's has very less number of man and failing to build the bridge will end up in an honorary death for Saito. The obvious solution is making the British prisoners work, but the British officer Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson isn't ready to pick a match stick and isn't going to let anyone of his men do so. This is the story behind "The Bridge on the River Kwai", this film is one of the greatest war films ever made.
The most important lesson that I learn't from this film is knowing your value and the value of your team. Colonel Saito will torture Colonel Nicholson to make him and his men work, but Nicholson will no move a muscle, protecting his honor and also the dignity of his country. He will not do anything while he is treated like that. Not only that, this also teaches a lot about team work and leadership. Even his men who were captured won't do anything because Nicholson ordered them not to.
Movies like this tells us about how foolish we humans are. We kill millions of people just to get a square inch of land. The main theme of this film is the use of power. Saito having an upper hand will be thinking he is powerful, while in reality every one is equal and equally capable of doing what the other is doing.
One of the most powerful scenes of this film is when Saito shows his weakness infront of Nicholson, Nicholson will be kept in an iron box as a way to torture him and to make him and his men work. And even his men will be getting punished for every decision that Nicholson is taking. Even after having all these pressures on him Nicholson decides not to budge. Watch the scene above just to get the essence of what I am talking.
If you have watched the film, you will know that this film has one of the most powerful climaxes ever. The hard work the men had put to build the bridge will be destroyed within seconds. This will make even the audience watching the movie feel sad about it. War and revenge may satisfy the humans temporarily, but its not the answer when you are in the long run.
I highly recommend everyone to watch this film. This is a lesson in history and also a deep study on humanities worst behaviors. Thank you for reading this post, for more posts and reviews on movies follow me. Cheers!
