The Bridge on the River Kwai

What you need to know before your trail

British soldiers are captured and kept as prisoners of war in a Japanese camp. 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. They are effectively helping the Japanese in their effort to overrun and therefore control Asia. The leading officer claims that prisoners can not be used as labourers but those who refuse are tortured or killed

Those who do work on the railway ensure they do the least work possible and try to sabotage the overall build. However the British officer is a perfectionist and is horrified by the bad work his men have done. He says the bridge is wrong and is in the right place. They now have to build a proper bridge built to British standards. Despite this helping the Japanese, they build the bridge properly.

But 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.