Letters From Iwo Jima Analysis
With many war films being released year after year, sometimes films that claim to be based on historical events are occasionally altered to create a more interesting story. There is an incredibly fine line between what is real and what fiction is and when it comes to films based on the Second World War. With these four films I have chosen we can explore the realism and entrainment value that is portrayed in these stories and understand what level of dedication is present within these interpretations to maintain historical accuracy.
Letters from Iwo Jima: Letters from Iwo Jima was Clint Eastwoods critically acclaimed epic story of the World War Two battle for the pacific island in 1945 released in 2006. The film tells the opposite side to …show more content…
the conflict as we would usually be desensitised to, with the focus on the Japanese defence of the island from the American navy. The film shows us a culture different to how we know yet reflect upon the similarities of how humanity can display the same morality of emotion, ideals and compassion. It is a brilliant concept to have this film from the point of view of the Japanese to be mirrored with another Clint Eastwood film Flags of Our Fathers because they both reflect the struggle for Iwo Jima in two different ways. With the introduction of several Japanese offices and soldiers, we get the feel of immersion into how the Japanese war effort really went in the sulphur mines of the island acting essentially as tunnel fortifications. Critically speaking this film encapsulates the range of emotion of many Japanese soldiers who essentially are all aware the cause they are fighting for is a hopeless battle to the death due to the Japanese code of honour, which is true representation of the Japanese mentality at this period in time. With the introduction of Tadamichi Kuribayashi, the Lieutenant General in charge of the defence of the island, we are introduced to an incredibly realistic and accurate portrayal of this man’s tactics, persona and character.
Equipped with the knowledge of American culture because of his research on their military and industrial power whilst living there, he understands what is necessary to cripple the invading force on the island by the use of well-constructed tunnels and pillbox defences. The tactics he displays fully represent the fighting style of the Japanese at the time with their adaptation of Guerrilla warfare and the shift away from the traditional banzai charges. Even though the representation of struggle is evident from the Japanese perspective, unity and tradition continues to drive many of the soldiers forward, even if they don’t fully believe in the cause. One key notable point that is historically accurate, is that the speech delivered by general Kuribayashi before he leads his men to battle is the actual set of instructions delivered to the soldiers of the Courage Division. With the introduction of Colonel Baron Takeichi Nishi, a former 1932 Olympic gold medal equestrian show jumper, we can understand the incredible amount of accuracy and research that has gone into the production. Whilst remaining loyal to their country, Kuribayashi and Nishi both display sympathy and empathy for the American enemy, when in particular an American prisoner is treated with respect and cared for his injuries. This is possibly a humanisation as we would understand because as reports from Japanese prisoners of war have revealed, the Japanese were some of the most violent soldiers and ordinarily would not relate to their enemy. This is possibly done for the benefit of the film to make the Japanese characters more relatable. By comparison this is a stark contrast to how the Americans were portrayed with the unprovoked murder of Japanese prisoners. Because of this apparent
reverse of ideals we become connected to the Japanese defence against this cruel invading foreign army, instead of the common conception that the Americans are usually the “good guys”. The key parts to the film are the focuses on the letters hidden at the end of the film which to me is the representation of the Japanese culture and emotion, and the other focus is the reversed idea of the American war story of men with different social background collectively coming together to overcome a common enemy.
The idea of the reversed American war film is the most interesting point in my opinion because it is an American film created by Clint Eastwood from the point of view on the Japanese which could be the essential component to remember in the representation of the Japanese army. The historical accuracy in this film is incredibly acute because the portrayal of the majority of the characters was their real life representation. The film clearly shows that it is based off of true events with possibly some moral details altered with the treatment of each army’s enemy prisoners, yet this does not change the structure and timeline of events that this film encapsulates. The series of events from each battle and many interactions we see throughout the film represent truth with little historical accuracy being sacrificed for the sake of entertainment.
Flags of Our Fathers: Another epic story from Clint Eastwood is the American side of the story of the invasion of Iwo Jima in 1945 with Flags of Our Fathers. Released in 2006, this film is an adaptation of the book written by James Bradley, the son of John Bradley and one of the main characters in this adaptation that was released in 2000. Throughout the conflict in the film we are taken through the first few days of the action up until the American flag is placed on top of Mount Suribachi. Unlike its companion film, Letters from Iwo Jima, a large portion of the film represents war time America and shows the experiences of the three of the five Marines and one Navy Corpsman who were involved in raising the flag on Iwo Jima, and the aftereffects of that event on their lives. The three focus characters were Marine Rene Gagnon, Navy Corpsman John Bradley, and Marine Ira Hayes, each showing their importance to the invasion of the commonly nicknamed “Sulphur Island” of Iwo Jima and their individual way of being labelled heroes back in America. The portrayal of heroes is a significant reflection of the pressure of living up to the glorified hype when essentially all that happened was a flag was erected to give people hope and significantly boost morale and finances within the country. Undeniably a special point is made that all involved in the fighting on both sides, dead or alive were all heroes in their own cause. A commonly unaddressed theme during war time America is racial insensitivity towards non-whites. Because Ira Hayes is Native American, or Indian, he is treated differently when back in America, specifically displayed with the incident in the dinner where he was denied service because the diner owner does not serve Indians. I feel this is a true reflection on racial insensitivity in 1945 America because being morally segregated, pressure is placed upon Hayes and we get presented a believable representation of war time stress and its effects. While Rene Gagnon and John Bradley, both White Americans act and carry themselves accordingly and semi-respectfully, all three are still regarded as heroes to the nation and are praised by so many. To encapsulate the viewer, a fitting reflection of precise detail is shown in the credits with the pictures of the actual soldiers are displayed on screen next the actors name.
Just like its companion film, the story is based on true events with incredible Historical accuracy down to the names, ranks, tactics, locations and emotion from both Japanese and American soldiers. When the soldiers are engaged with their adversaries we are introduced to the tactics of both armies, with the Japanese built into the Island with Pillboxes and tunnel defences and the Americans showing a far superior technologically advanced army, navy and air force which was used effectively and portrayed so. By comparison to Letters from Iwo Jima where we are introduced to the traditions of honour and extreme patriotism in the Japanese culture, we are immersed within the very masculine army mentality of discipline, fear and brotherhood within the American military. The representation of these traits are presented very well with several significant moments, with one example being when a soldier accidently goes overboard on one the battleships and is not rescued immediately prompting a soldier to exclaim “so much for no man left behind”; and another example being a representation of brotherhood when Sergeant Michael Strank is ambushed and slowly dies in front of his men provoking all of his surrounding men to synchronise their sorrow.
Overall this adaptation from Clint Eastwood is an incredibly accurate rendition of the American perspective of both combat and home life within America. Just like Letters from Iwo Jima, the names, ranks, backgrounds and personalities are given special attention to all the men involved in the story. The same can be said for the timeline of events of battle that occurred on Iwo Jima right down to the counter attack of the Japanese after the first flag was erected on top of Mount Suribachi.
Saving Private Ryan: The 1998 World War Two film of Saving Private Ryan received critical acclaim from critics, the box office and historians because of its sublime portrayal of Historical accuracy. The story itself presented in the film is actually based on true events yet the characters are all fictional in the portrayal of events. The inspiration for the film is based on the true story of Sergeant Frederick "Fritz" Niland of the Niland Brothers, from Tonawanda New York. Because his brothers were all missing and or assumed killed in action, Fredrick was sent home from the European conflict back to America. As we can see in this adaptation by Steven Spielberg, the focus is with Captain John H. Miller leading a company of specialised soldiers to find Private first class James Francis Ryan, the last surviving Ryan sibling throughout Normandy. Possibly the most iconic battle in film history, the opening sequence displays a true masterpiece in historical immersion, cinematography and pure emotion. On the morning of June 6th 1944, the beginning of the Normandy Invasion, the American soldiers prepare to land on Omaha beach. The chaos against dug-in German infantry, machine gun nests, and artillery fire, which killed hundreds of soldiers, is a brilliant reflection of the struggle that encapsulated D-Day. Captain John H. Miller, the commander of Charlie Company, 2nd Ranger Battalion, endures the initial landing and gathers a group of soldiers to penetrate the German defences, leading to a successful escape from the beach. To re-create the intense feel of the severity, intensity and gore that was the battle on the Normandy beaches, there were an incredible number of extras, professional battle re-enactors and actual amputees used to make the whole sequence as real and accurate as possible. The historical representation in the opening sequence was carefully researched and used replica World War Two landing crafts to portray the sense of realism within the sequence. Interestingly as well to note is that Spielberg did not storyboard the sequence, as he wanted spontaneous reactions and for the fighting to be as fluid and realistic as possible as if you were a soldier on the beach under constant fire. This recreation, alongside the use of spectacular visual and audio effects again portrays an incredibly immersive feel to the struggle that the American soldiers faced on D-Day.
After the success of the D-Day landings, Captain Miller receives the order to gather his men and search for the lost paratrooper, Private Ryan. Much like the whole campaign of the invasion of Normandy, soldiers and paratroopers went missing in action and became separated from their original squads because of the constant struggle of the battles, which led to confusion and technical malfunctions from both sides of the dispute. Even small details like when the company walks through fields with cows in, it represents war time ideas of fi a field has cows in it, there won’t be any hidden landmines.
Inevitably, for the sake of drama some artistic exaggeration and military equipment was taken and changed by the filmmakers. One of the most prominent is the depiction of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, as the enemy during the fictional Battle of Ramelle. The 2nd SS was not engaged in Normandy until July, and then at Caen against the British and Canadians, one hundred miles east. Another is the battle for Ramelle itself. When Captain Miller finds Private Ryan, the company assists the defence of the town. The inspiration for the battle of Ramelle was a conflict over a bridge located on the banks of the Merderet River; this was a prominent target for paratroopers to capture to allow easy access for the forces from Utah and Omaha beaches to transport troops and equipment freely.
The representation of this film can be interpreted in two key ways, one being a partially historically accurate depiction of the invasion of Normandy, and the other is a spectacular visual story to fully engage the viewer in an incredible piece of film making. Because the names of the characters are altered around a real mission that took place and a fictional battle is displayed in the film, we can understand that this story is both an incredible piece of drama which is highly accurate, but also, with the use of research and dedication to the project, we are given an immersive story that can educate the viewer into the equipment, tactics, locations, emotion and character of the soldiers that were involved in the Normandy conflict during this period of time.
The Bridge on the River Kwai: The last film I have chosen is The Bridge on the River Kwai which is a 1957 film based on the novel of the same name by French author Pierre Boulle. The largely fictitious plot is based on the building of one of the railway bridges over the Mae Klong River in 1943 by Dutch, Commonwealth and American prisoners of war under their Japanese captures In Thailand. While the film is not based on actual specific events, it has several real life historical parallels with the number of prisoners working on the railway system and locations that were used. The actual Burma-Siam railway, built by the prisoners of war, was a Japanese mission driven by the need for better-quality communications to support the great Japanese army in Burma. During its construction, approximately 13,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway as shown multiple times within the film, with an estimated 85,000 civilians also dying in the sequence of the bridges development.
The persona and personality that is portrayed by the British officers, specifically Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson, is that of a stereotypical English commander asserting his stern defiance even as a prisoner slowly dying in the hotbox, he eventually breaks the will of Colonel Saito and is allowed to take control of the construction of the bridge. With small stereotypical details such as negotiating tea during a meeting with Colonel Saito, we can tell that the representation of the British army in its defiance is a display of honour and duty. Even though the bridges construction uses Dutch, American and British prisoners, the focus is put on the British to introduce Western concepts of construction and teamwork to finish the bridge by Colonel Saito’s deadline. This is evident because the British group has apparent experience whilst in India constructing similar bridges. On the other side, an escaped prisoner from the camp, US Navy Commander Sheers alongside Canadian Lieutenant Joyce is given orders to destroy the construction of the bridge to sabotage the Japanese war effort in Asia. Eventually the bridge is destroyed and many of the men die in the fighting that ensues including Colonel Saito, Colonel Nichols and Commander Sheers.
The multiple references to the Geneva Convention in the film are actually a representation of how softly the men were worked in the film, because as we know today, the Japanese were barbaric towards their prisoners during the Second World War. Although the film does show bad circumstances and suffering caused by the construction of the Burma Railway and its bridges, the reality was actually the conditions were historically horrendous under the control of the Japanese. The character of Colonel Nicholson is actually based off of real life prisoner Philip Toosey who was very different from Nicholson and was not a collaborator who felt obliged to work with the Japanese as opposed to Nicholson’s character. Toosey in fact did as much to delay the building of the bridge as possible. Nicholson strongly condemns acts of sabotage and other deliberate attempts to delay progress due to his own personal pride, Whereas Toosey encouraged this because conditions were vastly different during the construction of the actual bridges.
The difference in this war specific film compared to the other three is that is does not contain a major conflict yet still signifies the struggle that the Second World War represents. Although this specific film is fictional and also factual overall, the reference and accuracy to parallels of imprisonment for war time prisoners during the construction of bridges in Asia is symbolic to understand the other side of war. The majority of war films focus on the actual fighting of significant or crucial battles, The Bridge on the River Kwai is a great representation of conditions and the mentality of soldiers, prisoners and commanding officials when trying to survive in their nations customary traditions. The multiple demonstrations of war time mentality is addressed most and best from this film, and I believe this is done especially because it was made and released 14 years after the events of the film took place, meaning it would still be aware for the period but not understood by the majority of the public at this point.
Word Count: 3000
Bibliography:
• Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima (2006 Film)
• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0498380/ (Letters from Iwo Jima)
• Clint Eastwood, Flags of our Fathers (2006 Film)
• James Bradley, Flags of our Fathers, 2000 (Bantam books)
• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0418689/ (Flags of Our Fathers)
• Steven Spielberg, Saving Private Ryan (1998 Film)
• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120815/ (Saving Private Ryan)
• David Lean, The bridge on the River Kwai (1957 Film)
• Pierre Boulle, The Bridge over the River Kwai, 1952, English Translation by Xan Fielding 1954 (Julliard Publishing)
• http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/2017100/KANCHANABURI%20WAR%20CEMETERY
Letters from Iwo Jima: Letters from Iwo Jima was Clint Eastwoods critically acclaimed epic story of the World War Two battle for the pacific island in 1945 released in 2006. The film tells the opposite side to …show more content…
the conflict as we would usually be desensitised to, with the focus on the Japanese defence of the island from the American navy. The film shows us a culture different to how we know yet reflect upon the similarities of how humanity can display the same morality of emotion, ideals and compassion. It is a brilliant concept to have this film from the point of view of the Japanese to be mirrored with another Clint Eastwood film Flags of Our Fathers because they both reflect the struggle for Iwo Jima in two different ways. With the introduction of several Japanese offices and soldiers, we get the feel of immersion into how the Japanese war effort really went in the sulphur mines of the island acting essentially as tunnel fortifications. Critically speaking this film encapsulates the range of emotion of many Japanese soldiers who essentially are all aware the cause they are fighting for is a hopeless battle to the death due to the Japanese code of honour, which is true representation of the Japanese mentality at this period in time. With the introduction of Tadamichi Kuribayashi, the Lieutenant General in charge of the defence of the island, we are introduced to an incredibly realistic and accurate portrayal of this man’s tactics, persona and character.
Equipped with the knowledge of American culture because of his research on their military and industrial power whilst living there, he understands what is necessary to cripple the invading force on the island by the use of well-constructed tunnels and pillbox defences. The tactics he displays fully represent the fighting style of the Japanese at the time with their adaptation of Guerrilla warfare and the shift away from the traditional banzai charges. Even though the representation of struggle is evident from the Japanese perspective, unity and tradition continues to drive many of the soldiers forward, even if they don’t fully believe in the cause. One key notable point that is historically accurate, is that the speech delivered by general Kuribayashi before he leads his men to battle is the actual set of instructions delivered to the soldiers of the Courage Division. With the introduction of Colonel Baron Takeichi Nishi, a former 1932 Olympic gold medal equestrian show jumper, we can understand the incredible amount of accuracy and research that has gone into the production. Whilst remaining loyal to their country, Kuribayashi and Nishi both display sympathy and empathy for the American enemy, when in particular an American prisoner is treated with respect and cared for his injuries. This is possibly a humanisation as we would understand because as reports from Japanese prisoners of war have revealed, the Japanese were some of the most violent soldiers and ordinarily would not relate to their enemy. This is possibly done for the benefit of the film to make the Japanese characters more relatable. By comparison this is a stark contrast to how the Americans were portrayed with the unprovoked murder of Japanese prisoners. Because of this apparent
reverse of ideals we become connected to the Japanese defence against this cruel invading foreign army, instead of the common conception that the Americans are usually the “good guys”. The key parts to the film are the focuses on the letters hidden at the end of the film which to me is the representation of the Japanese culture and emotion, and the other focus is the reversed idea of the American war story of men with different social background collectively coming together to overcome a common enemy.
The idea of the reversed American war film is the most interesting point in my opinion because it is an American film created by Clint Eastwood from the point of view on the Japanese which could be the essential component to remember in the representation of the Japanese army. The historical accuracy in this film is incredibly acute because the portrayal of the majority of the characters was their real life representation. The film clearly shows that it is based off of true events with possibly some moral details altered with the treatment of each army’s enemy prisoners, yet this does not change the structure and timeline of events that this film encapsulates. The series of events from each battle and many interactions we see throughout the film represent truth with little historical accuracy being sacrificed for the sake of entertainment.
Flags of Our Fathers: Another epic story from Clint Eastwood is the American side of the story of the invasion of Iwo Jima in 1945 with Flags of Our Fathers. Released in 2006, this film is an adaptation of the book written by James Bradley, the son of John Bradley and one of the main characters in this adaptation that was released in 2000. Throughout the conflict in the film we are taken through the first few days of the action up until the American flag is placed on top of Mount Suribachi. Unlike its companion film, Letters from Iwo Jima, a large portion of the film represents war time America and shows the experiences of the three of the five Marines and one Navy Corpsman who were involved in raising the flag on Iwo Jima, and the aftereffects of that event on their lives. The three focus characters were Marine Rene Gagnon, Navy Corpsman John Bradley, and Marine Ira Hayes, each showing their importance to the invasion of the commonly nicknamed “Sulphur Island” of Iwo Jima and their individual way of being labelled heroes back in America. The portrayal of heroes is a significant reflection of the pressure of living up to the glorified hype when essentially all that happened was a flag was erected to give people hope and significantly boost morale and finances within the country. Undeniably a special point is made that all involved in the fighting on both sides, dead or alive were all heroes in their own cause. A commonly unaddressed theme during war time America is racial insensitivity towards non-whites. Because Ira Hayes is Native American, or Indian, he is treated differently when back in America, specifically displayed with the incident in the dinner where he was denied service because the diner owner does not serve Indians. I feel this is a true reflection on racial insensitivity in 1945 America because being morally segregated, pressure is placed upon Hayes and we get presented a believable representation of war time stress and its effects. While Rene Gagnon and John Bradley, both White Americans act and carry themselves accordingly and semi-respectfully, all three are still regarded as heroes to the nation and are praised by so many. To encapsulate the viewer, a fitting reflection of precise detail is shown in the credits with the pictures of the actual soldiers are displayed on screen next the actors name.
Just like its companion film, the story is based on true events with incredible Historical accuracy down to the names, ranks, tactics, locations and emotion from both Japanese and American soldiers. When the soldiers are engaged with their adversaries we are introduced to the tactics of both armies, with the Japanese built into the Island with Pillboxes and tunnel defences and the Americans showing a far superior technologically advanced army, navy and air force which was used effectively and portrayed so. By comparison to Letters from Iwo Jima where we are introduced to the traditions of honour and extreme patriotism in the Japanese culture, we are immersed within the very masculine army mentality of discipline, fear and brotherhood within the American military. The representation of these traits are presented very well with several significant moments, with one example being when a soldier accidently goes overboard on one the battleships and is not rescued immediately prompting a soldier to exclaim “so much for no man left behind”; and another example being a representation of brotherhood when Sergeant Michael Strank is ambushed and slowly dies in front of his men provoking all of his surrounding men to synchronise their sorrow.
Overall this adaptation from Clint Eastwood is an incredibly accurate rendition of the American perspective of both combat and home life within America. Just like Letters from Iwo Jima, the names, ranks, backgrounds and personalities are given special attention to all the men involved in the story. The same can be said for the timeline of events of battle that occurred on Iwo Jima right down to the counter attack of the Japanese after the first flag was erected on top of Mount Suribachi.
Saving Private Ryan: The 1998 World War Two film of Saving Private Ryan received critical acclaim from critics, the box office and historians because of its sublime portrayal of Historical accuracy. The story itself presented in the film is actually based on true events yet the characters are all fictional in the portrayal of events. The inspiration for the film is based on the true story of Sergeant Frederick "Fritz" Niland of the Niland Brothers, from Tonawanda New York. Because his brothers were all missing and or assumed killed in action, Fredrick was sent home from the European conflict back to America. As we can see in this adaptation by Steven Spielberg, the focus is with Captain John H. Miller leading a company of specialised soldiers to find Private first class James Francis Ryan, the last surviving Ryan sibling throughout Normandy. Possibly the most iconic battle in film history, the opening sequence displays a true masterpiece in historical immersion, cinematography and pure emotion. On the morning of June 6th 1944, the beginning of the Normandy Invasion, the American soldiers prepare to land on Omaha beach. The chaos against dug-in German infantry, machine gun nests, and artillery fire, which killed hundreds of soldiers, is a brilliant reflection of the struggle that encapsulated D-Day. Captain John H. Miller, the commander of Charlie Company, 2nd Ranger Battalion, endures the initial landing and gathers a group of soldiers to penetrate the German defences, leading to a successful escape from the beach. To re-create the intense feel of the severity, intensity and gore that was the battle on the Normandy beaches, there were an incredible number of extras, professional battle re-enactors and actual amputees used to make the whole sequence as real and accurate as possible. The historical representation in the opening sequence was carefully researched and used replica World War Two landing crafts to portray the sense of realism within the sequence. Interestingly as well to note is that Spielberg did not storyboard the sequence, as he wanted spontaneous reactions and for the fighting to be as fluid and realistic as possible as if you were a soldier on the beach under constant fire. This recreation, alongside the use of spectacular visual and audio effects again portrays an incredibly immersive feel to the struggle that the American soldiers faced on D-Day.
After the success of the D-Day landings, Captain Miller receives the order to gather his men and search for the lost paratrooper, Private Ryan. Much like the whole campaign of the invasion of Normandy, soldiers and paratroopers went missing in action and became separated from their original squads because of the constant struggle of the battles, which led to confusion and technical malfunctions from both sides of the dispute. Even small details like when the company walks through fields with cows in, it represents war time ideas of fi a field has cows in it, there won’t be any hidden landmines.
Inevitably, for the sake of drama some artistic exaggeration and military equipment was taken and changed by the filmmakers. One of the most prominent is the depiction of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, as the enemy during the fictional Battle of Ramelle. The 2nd SS was not engaged in Normandy until July, and then at Caen against the British and Canadians, one hundred miles east. Another is the battle for Ramelle itself. When Captain Miller finds Private Ryan, the company assists the defence of the town. The inspiration for the battle of Ramelle was a conflict over a bridge located on the banks of the Merderet River; this was a prominent target for paratroopers to capture to allow easy access for the forces from Utah and Omaha beaches to transport troops and equipment freely.
The representation of this film can be interpreted in two key ways, one being a partially historically accurate depiction of the invasion of Normandy, and the other is a spectacular visual story to fully engage the viewer in an incredible piece of film making. Because the names of the characters are altered around a real mission that took place and a fictional battle is displayed in the film, we can understand that this story is both an incredible piece of drama which is highly accurate, but also, with the use of research and dedication to the project, we are given an immersive story that can educate the viewer into the equipment, tactics, locations, emotion and character of the soldiers that were involved in the Normandy conflict during this period of time.
The Bridge on the River Kwai: The last film I have chosen is The Bridge on the River Kwai which is a 1957 film based on the novel of the same name by French author Pierre Boulle. The largely fictitious plot is based on the building of one of the railway bridges over the Mae Klong River in 1943 by Dutch, Commonwealth and American prisoners of war under their Japanese captures In Thailand. While the film is not based on actual specific events, it has several real life historical parallels with the number of prisoners working on the railway system and locations that were used. The actual Burma-Siam railway, built by the prisoners of war, was a Japanese mission driven by the need for better-quality communications to support the great Japanese army in Burma. During its construction, approximately 13,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway as shown multiple times within the film, with an estimated 85,000 civilians also dying in the sequence of the bridges development.
The persona and personality that is portrayed by the British officers, specifically Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson, is that of a stereotypical English commander asserting his stern defiance even as a prisoner slowly dying in the hotbox, he eventually breaks the will of Colonel Saito and is allowed to take control of the construction of the bridge. With small stereotypical details such as negotiating tea during a meeting with Colonel Saito, we can tell that the representation of the British army in its defiance is a display of honour and duty. Even though the bridges construction uses Dutch, American and British prisoners, the focus is put on the British to introduce Western concepts of construction and teamwork to finish the bridge by Colonel Saito’s deadline. This is evident because the British group has apparent experience whilst in India constructing similar bridges. On the other side, an escaped prisoner from the camp, US Navy Commander Sheers alongside Canadian Lieutenant Joyce is given orders to destroy the construction of the bridge to sabotage the Japanese war effort in Asia. Eventually the bridge is destroyed and many of the men die in the fighting that ensues including Colonel Saito, Colonel Nichols and Commander Sheers.
The multiple references to the Geneva Convention in the film are actually a representation of how softly the men were worked in the film, because as we know today, the Japanese were barbaric towards their prisoners during the Second World War. Although the film does show bad circumstances and suffering caused by the construction of the Burma Railway and its bridges, the reality was actually the conditions were historically horrendous under the control of the Japanese. The character of Colonel Nicholson is actually based off of real life prisoner Philip Toosey who was very different from Nicholson and was not a collaborator who felt obliged to work with the Japanese as opposed to Nicholson’s character. Toosey in fact did as much to delay the building of the bridge as possible. Nicholson strongly condemns acts of sabotage and other deliberate attempts to delay progress due to his own personal pride, Whereas Toosey encouraged this because conditions were vastly different during the construction of the actual bridges.
The difference in this war specific film compared to the other three is that is does not contain a major conflict yet still signifies the struggle that the Second World War represents. Although this specific film is fictional and also factual overall, the reference and accuracy to parallels of imprisonment for war time prisoners during the construction of bridges in Asia is symbolic to understand the other side of war. The majority of war films focus on the actual fighting of significant or crucial battles, The Bridge on the River Kwai is a great representation of conditions and the mentality of soldiers, prisoners and commanding officials when trying to survive in their nations customary traditions. The multiple demonstrations of war time mentality is addressed most and best from this film, and I believe this is done especially because it was made and released 14 years after the events of the film took place, meaning it would still be aware for the period but not understood by the majority of the public at this point.
Word Count: 3000
Bibliography:
• Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima (2006 Film)
• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0498380/ (Letters from Iwo Jima)
• Clint Eastwood, Flags of our Fathers (2006 Film)
• James Bradley, Flags of our Fathers, 2000 (Bantam books)
• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0418689/ (Flags of Our Fathers)
• Steven Spielberg, Saving Private Ryan (1998 Film)
• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120815/ (Saving Private Ryan)
• David Lean, The bridge on the River Kwai (1957 Film)
• Pierre Boulle, The Bridge over the River Kwai, 1952, English Translation by Xan Fielding 1954 (Julliard Publishing)
• http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/2017100/KANCHANABURI%20WAR%20CEMETERY