To End All Wars: Fight for Freedom

THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE KWAI, the story of British POW's forced to build the Japanese jungle railroad, was my favorite book when it came out in 1962. Thus I was a bit apprehensive at what filmmakers would do to it when I heard about TO END ALL WARS, the title itself being changed. The film is different in many ways from the book, but is so powerful that the addition (apparently for dramatic excitement) of fictional characters bent on staging an escape can be forgiven. Agnostic Ernest Gordon's story of his being nursed back from the brink of death by Christian friends, thereby starting him on the road to faith--and incredibly, understanding and then forgiveness of the harsh brutality of his Japanese captors--raises this film far above any other WW2 films that I have seen (except perhaps the under-rated THE THIN RED LINE, like TO END...also filled with philosophical questions and ruminations). Although the brutality of the Japanese bushito system is shown in all its horrific brutality, some of the Japanese, especially the young man who serves as interpreter, are depicted as having touch of humanity. The film's central thesis seems to depict the affects of clinging to anger and vengeance versus seeking to be able to forgive and reconcile. The latter is shown at the end of the film when, similar to the scene in SCHINDLER'S LIST, the real Capt. Ernest Gordon and Japanese interpreter Nagase, now old men, meet and shake hands in Thailand at a memorial to those who died building the railroad. The creativity of the men, forming a Jungle University where Plato and Shakespeare are taught, is celebrated, calling to mind the inspiring film of women POW's, PARADISE ROAD.

When this thought-inspiring film finally is released to theaters or video, don't miss it. It can serve as an antidote to the dozens of mindless, vengeance-based flicks cluttering up the screens of our cinemaplexes.

i saw this film as i tend to like films of this type about humanitarian stories, the fact that this one is true actual events made it even more powerful for me. it truly does bring home the facts of what the men from ww11 endured to make our world today as free as it is, and it is films like this one that should be shown as part of history curriculum in high schools. the film was brilliant, brutal, honest, extremely well acted, filmed and managed to touch me to the point of tears. Robert Carlyle was fantastic, as were the rest of the leads, i would give this film 9 out of 10 simply because 10 out of 10 would be perfection and perfection does not exist.

It was not until the end of the film that I discovered that this was a real life account by Ernest Gordon of the horrors suffered by the allied POW's building the Burma Railroad.

No film can ever show how terrible it was, despite the attempt to film in sequence with the actors dieting in order to lose weight as time went on. The actors would have had to do three years manual labor in the jungle heat for 18 hours a day on 1,000 (or less) calorie meatless slop, while suffering dysentery, beri beri, pellagra, tropical ulcers, regular beatings and other cruelty, all the time unaware of what was happening at home or how the war was going. They lived under the constant fear of being killed once they were no longer useful. By the time they were liberated the survivors were walking skeletons. Why the filmmakers could not find more skinny extras among the thousands available always puzzles me. When the men were lined up for roll call they could have put the emaciated looking actors at the front, and kept the well built lads at the back, dressed in rags to hide their muscular bodies.

I deducted two stars for the aforemention goof, and for the liberation in August 1945, appearing right after the dedication ceremony for the completion of the railroad in October 1943, at which the men were told they would be moved to other camps. Perhaps it was an editing slip up, but the B-24s arrived to bomb the camps, after which another flight arrived dropping leaflets immediately after.

It is a credit to the filmmakers that this relatively low budget movie conveys this terrible period so well. Although few, if any men, who were prisoners working on the Burma Railroad are still alive, despite the disbelief of several commenters this actually happened and should not be forgotten. This should be a "must see" in school history classes.

"To End all Wars": Starring Robert Carlyle ("Go Now"), Keifer Sutherland, and MANY talented men. As the film began, it felt like a cousin to "Bridge on the River Kwai", but the plot slowly morphed to an even MORE complex set of ethical issues, with divisions not seen in that great 1950's film. I see this new one as more related to the movie "Andersonville" - our own true American tragedy of a P.O.W. camp during the Civil War - and what THAT experience demanded of those interned. "To End all Wars" is certainly an anti-war film, and a true story, but looks at many individuals for the complexity of dealing with the horror...and offers bits of consolation...where it can be found. Its elegant ending reminded me of "Schindler's List". "To End all Wars" deserves to be considered a PROFOUND film.

To End All Wars is a remarkably bold--almost brazen--film that deserves a wider distribution. As far as war movies go, it is much better than Thin Red Line, which tries to be thoughtful but only achieves a meaningless ambivalence. To End All Wars conveys its message in a clear yet profound way.

As a Christian film, it shines as the boldest offering I have ever seen. Whereas popular depictions of religion (Seventh Heaven, anyone?) might mention an unspecified god every now and then, this film uses unmistakable metaphors and symbolism that blur the line between analogy and reality. It is one thing to put a cross in a shot. It is another thing completely to depict someone making sacrifices for his friends.

Ultimately, To End All Wars makes no compromises, neither to those who think its rating does not match its message nor not to those who think it is too preachy. Some things need to be preached.