LutherCalvin
02-17-2005, 11:11 PM
The film "To End All Wars" takes place in a Japanese prison camp during WWII and portrays the struggle of the prisoners to retain their dignity in an inhumane situation. It is based on a 1962 book, "Through the Valley of the Kwai", by Ernest Gordon, who survived the horror of the prison camp, and eventually became the Dean of Chapel at Princeton University for 26 years. It deals with the same situation as the David Lean film, "The Bridge on the River Kwai", using forced labor to construct a railway in Thailand and Burma. The film has four main characters; Major Cambell who plans to escape and seek revenge on his captors; Yanker, a self centered American; Dusty, a Christian, and Ernest, an agnostic who aspires to be a teacher, and actually crates a "jungle university" for his co-prisoners. There are several main Japanese characters who represent their culture: the camp commander, his second in command, and a translator for the camp. The film shows the world views of the eastern culture (conformity to the group norms gives life meaning) in conflict with the western culture (individual freedom). The value systems of the Bushido Code and Christianity are also explored. This is a profound movie and worthy of multiple viewings. Has anyone here seen it?