#19: This Is War! This Is Not A Game Of Cricket!

(Bridge on the River Kwai, 1957, David Lean)

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!

I’m not sure what the reason for it is, but honor has never really been a driving factor in my life. It might be the times we live in, or the society we’re a part of, but I never find myself thinking that when I’m doing something I’m doing it primarily for the honor of it. Let’s be honest, it’s almost always for personal gain. It’s just the way it is. I’m not necessarily saying I’m happy about it, sometimes I think it would be nice to live in a time where a person’s most important quality is their honor, but we live in a world where honor is on the list of important things somewhere far below monetary holdings and good looks. Which is why Bridge on the River Kwai, where honor is valued above all else, is such a fascinating watch.

Bridge on the River Kwai is essentially a story about two colonels, Col. Nicholson of the British army and Col. Saito of the Japanese army, who have to build a bridge. Saito must do it because those are his orders, and Nicholson must do it because he is a prisoner of Saito. In reality, both must do it to preserve their honor. In the interest of time and space, I’m going to focus on Saito, even though Nicholson is played by Alec Guinness, Oscar winner and future Jedi Master. In the end, though, I think Saito is the much more interesting character.  I can talk about Alec Guinness down the road when he’s actually a Jedi.

So here’s the deal: Saito is bound by the Japanese traditions of honor. He must have the bridge built by his deadline, or he has to kill himself. It sounds harsh, but to not have the project completed by the time his superiors say it must be would be extremely dishonorable and disrespectful, and the only way to regain that honor would be to commit seppuku and remove himself from the world. Saito uses a number of methods (mainly torture) to try to convince Nicholson and his men to build the bridge for him in order to meet his deadline and avoid having to end his own life. However, Nicholson refuses to defy the Geneva Conventions and allow his officers to work, so Saito is stuck. Well, kind of. After a few days in a hot box without food or water, Nicholson changes his mind and says he will help get the bridge built as long as Saito upholds the Geneva Conventions and doesn’t make the officers do manual labor. The shake on it, and the both go on their merry bridge-building way.

Long story short, they get the bridge built by the deadline, and everyone’s honor is restored, right? Wrong! Because now Saito must contend with the fact that the building of the bridge has essentially become a British project. The Brits designed the bridge and built the bridge, and all he did was order them to do it. Due to his inner torment, Saito brings his ceremonial knife with him to the bridge during it’s unveiling, and we are left to presume that he is going to commit seppuku anyway. Because, you know, a bridge built entirely by British hands is just as dishonorable as no bridge at all. And then it gets complicated.

While Saito’s inner battle is raging, Nicholson discovers that the Brits have rigged the bridge with explosives so that it will blow right as the first train crosses over it. When Saito and Nicholson get down to the exposed wire, the audience knows that Saito has the knife in his coat. But does he cut the wire? NO! Why? HONOR! If the bridge is destroyed by British forces, Saito cannot be punished because the evidence of his lack of involvement in the project will be reduced to toothpicks. And he would have still met his deadline, solving the initial “meet the deadline or kill himself” problem. He’s saved. Well, kind of. Until he gets shot at least. But that’s really not the point.

I guess that after 4 rewrites I still don’t really know where I’m going with this, except to pose this question. If Saito had lived, and the bridge had exploded because he didn’t cut the wire… would that really have restored his honor? In my mind, not really. By not cutting the wire he allowed the bridge to be destroyed, causing Japanese deaths and a huge inconvenience for the Japanese army. I guess this question is kind of irrelevant because he did die, but I didn’t really know what else to write about this movie. Which, by the way, I really liked. Just don’t ask me to explain why.