Bridge on the River Kwai Movie Review Summary

David Lean's WWII classic about British POWs forced to construct a strategic bridge in Thailand. When British Colonel Nicholson (Guiness) and Japanese Colonel Saito (Hayakawa) square off over a Geneva Convention “rule” exempting officers from manual labor, the two confront each other (“Rules!? This is war, not a game of cricket".) After torturing Nicholson, Colonel Saito gives in, greatly losing face. He is further humiliated when he sees the British building a better bridge than his men could, probably on deadline, an accomplishment which could make his planned suicide unnecessary. But unbeknownst to either is a British plot to blow up the bridge. The drama becomes unbearable as three commandos methodically plant the explosives. When Colonel Nicholson detects the fuses, he demonstrates his version of intense pride which is not much different from Colonel Saito's.
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