Chungkai, le camp des survivants

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.

What if I told you you will watch a war film but won't see so many war scenes? Would you believe me? Would you say "this can't be a war film!"? Well, believe me, TO END ALL WARS is this film! It's a very good WAR film where shots and guns are not seen very much. Maybe this movie should be named a "drama war" or anything like a "military drama". But let alone the genre. The important thing is to enjoy this nice movie with a different development: a Scottish group of soldiers are sent to Thailand to fight the Japanese force but ends up being kept as captive. The soldiers are forced to build a railway for the Japanese but some of them plan to escape from that hell. When they're together at night, they discuss what to do for their future but they don't seem to agree about it. The discussions (and arguments) arise and each of the prisoners defends his point of view. The acting is very good and our attention is 100% towards the story.

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 am a serious film lover who keeps up with the best new films. I stumbled across To End All Wars when it was shown recently on one of the Starz/Encore channels. At the end, I kept asking myself why I had never heard of it. The film is nowhere to be found in Roger Ebert's reviews or Leonard Maltin's annual guide, and yet I suspect that Ebert, at least, would rate this film very highly.

I like films that are about something that is important, at least to me, and not just pure entertainment. Not that I don't enjoy a good action-adventure film or light comedy from time to time, but most of the time, I prefer to spend my time watching films that make me think and perhaps even ask questions of myself.

To End All Wars is one such film. The Bridge on the River Kwai, which deals with the same historical events, is not, despite its many strong points. In this respect, To End All Wars is the better film, and the one that I am more likely to watch frequently.

Despite its title, the film is not really about war. What it is about is the efforts of a small group of men, and one man in particular, to maintain their faith, their sense of values, and their very sanity under horrible, murderous conditions that would drive most men to insanity or to become murderers themselves.

The film forces me to ask myself whether I could have done the same under those conditions. To be honest, I'm afraid to ask the question because I may not like the answer.

Although the film depicts many horrible things, it is not a depressing film, at least for me. Rather, it's a positive, hopeful film, in the same way that Schindler's List is a positive, hopeful film. If one man, in the case of Schindler, or a small group of men, in the case of the ones in this film, can maintain their sanity, faith, and values in a world that has gone insane, then there is hope for mankind.

As for the references to their Christian faith, it is not laid on with a trowel, as it might be in a lesser film. It is simply there as an important part of their lives. Whether or not we share that faith is beside the point. What is important is that they shared it, and that faith helped them to survive.

Could the director and the writers have made their points even more effectively? Probably. Would I have liked to have known more about the individual characters? Definitely. Would the film have benefited from a larger budget? Possibly.

All of these questions are moot, however. Every film deserves to be judged on its own terms, on the basis of what it is and not what it might have been. Not every film can be another Citizen Kane or Rules of the Game, nor should it be.

Taken on its own merits, To End All Wars is an excellent film that I expect to watch many times and recommend to my family and friends as well. The fact that the film never got proper distribution, at least in the United States, and therefore never got the recognition that it deserves, shows just how shallow and superficial the Hollywood film industry has become. Thankfully it is available on DVD.

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.