To End All Wars (2001)

Transcription

1 To End All Wars (2001) (The Directors Cut) (With Robert Carlyle and Keiffer Sutherland et al) Robert Carlyle and Keiffer Sutherland are both excellent in this film Carlyle is a fine actor he is believable and suits the role; a stand out for me. Keep a look out for the young Australian played by Brendan Cowell he does a fine job as the token Aussie a little under a decade later he will make the film Beneath Hill 60 a movie about the miners in WW1 and the blowing of Hill 60 in Belgium, the explosion of which was felt in London. Movie Poster 1

2 You can view the official movie trailer here: Earnest Gordon wrote his book Through the Valley of the Kwai which the film is depicted upon. Earnest was a teacher prior to joining the 2 nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders; he served in Changi and was later sent up the railway to slave on that project for the Japanese Army to assist with the supply lines into Burma and ultimately British India. Takashi Nagase is now immortalised in two films: 1. The Railway Man and 2. To End All Wars. He turned to Buddhism after the war and became a Buddhist Monk. He has a statue outside the JEATH War Museum in Kanchanaburi; the same museum is built in the depiction of an Atap style barracks where the men would have slept. A couple of questions: a. Does he deserve this status? b. How many other Japanese/Korean Guards (did post war) what Nagase did? I.E. Work for peace and acknowledge their evil deeds during the war? E Earnest Gordon with Nagase in 2000 in Thailand. Yugo Saso plays Nagase in the film 2

3 I believe this is the first film to be depict (nearly solely) Kanchanaburi POW Camp throughout its entirety. The film shows the building of the railway with snippets of other locations, namely Tarsau, Three Pagodas Pass (at the Thai/Myanmar border), Konkoita (where the line joined although the subtitles do not tell you it was Konkoita and of course a short depiction of Hellfire Pass. This is the first Hollywood movie to show Kanchanaburi and Hellfire Pass why did it take so long? There are dozens of fantastic books on the subject of the railway yet it took this long to make a movie that mentions these places. (Bridge Over the River Kwai (the movie) by David Lean will be dealt with in a separate review however in research for this article it was suggested by IMDb that Capt Gordon s book was also used by Lean s 1957 movie). I remember when I was in the markets in Bangkok and Kanchanaburi when this film was released you could buy copies of it almost anywhere; the locals were flogging it rather cheaply. What this movie does is what Bridge Over the River Kwai did 50 odd years ago it brings the story into mainstream. Bridge Over the River Kwai became a household name after the film; this movie at least does more than our educational system has ever done in terms of describing this event in our short history. I learned none of the Death Railway at school nothing - which is absolutely poor. Films of this nature at least highlight those prisoners and their struggle; yes there are fictional adaptations thrown in and conversations are invented but at least the story and event is remembered and brought into living rooms across the globe. I like the design and effort the Director et al went to with regard the POW Camp itself it s what I pictured in my mind of what it would look like I hope they do it justice (only the returned men would be able to tell us any different). The word justice is a feature throughout the film and during lectures of Gordon s its prominence is a highlight of the film particular towards the end where the grappling of the word etches towards a fitting crescendo. Continue to watch the credits in the film it shows Hellfire Pass around the year 2000; obviously not much has changed with the pass from then to now; it shows Wampho Viaduct and a train traveling over the line as well. 3

4 The film premise is about Earnest Gordon s experience as a POW on the Siam- Burma Railway; the struggles he endured and witnessed. The main premise underpinning the setting is forgiveness; his own struggles and that of his mates. Spoiler Alert The movie at the end shows the real Earnest Gordon with Nagase at the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery these are incredible scenes that again promote what the film is all about. I asked Rod Beattie (Director of the Thai Burma Railway Centre) about the shooting of LT Colonel Stewart (a decade ago) he said this was a fictional part of the movie. Another movie poster 4

5 Ciaran McMenamin who plays Captain Gordon is brilliantly cast in the role he is passionate and easy to watch. Sergeant Ito played by Sakae Kimura does a convincing job as the evil Japanese antagonist. Also Yanker what a name how many Yankers have you met? In the film Yanker says he is not a Kamikaze or similar when they are discussing escape Kamikaze was a term (Divine Wind) that was created later in the war when Japanese pilots were used to fly into Allied shipping this didn t start until late in 1944; but Yanker uses the term in 1942 an historical oops. In research for this article I note that the film is based on Gordon s book. I also discovered that Dusty Miller was crucified (as depicted) only two weeks before the end of the war. The two men that helped Gordon during his sickness both died two weeks short of the surrender. This is a great film with a challenging premise that theme is something many men would have struggled with for the rest of their lives. In short there should be many more movies on this subject to get this period into the living rooms and theatres of the masses. Of course not everyone likes this film online I found this superlative: Adapted by right-wing Christian zealot Brian Godawa, To End All Wars is an extremely heavy-handed piece of propaganda for fundamentalist Protestantism. The figurative crucifixion of the saintly Dusty Miller inspires Gordon and other POWs to embrace the Christian faith as the best, perhaps only, means of enduing a profane world. In sum, To End all Wars is partisan religious ideology masquerading as a World War II epic.. at least he said it was an epic. I like films that create a journey and learning for their characters; Major Campbell, Capt Gordon and others learn more about themselves as the film progresses as religion and education offer hope. If you are every in Scotland check out Sterling Castle (home of the Argylls) they have an excellent museum dedicated to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. See the next few photos of Sterling Castle I took in 2009: 5

6 At Sterling Castle statue of Robert the Bruce Out the front of Sterling Castle Scotland 6

7 See the anti-wall climbing defences at Stirling Castle (above) Fortress on the hill below: 7

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9 Where the Argyll military museum is located within Sterling Castle. In the film Keiffer Sutherland depicts a scene when a shovel goes missing this is a true story however the real soldier (an Argyll) is beaten to death over the incident. This man is the quintessential mate, he put himself knowingly in harm s way so his friends were left alone. He stood to attention and was punched and kicked veraciously by the sadist Japanese Guard. When he fell to the ground he was killed with the crushing blow of a Japanese Arisaka rifle. The guard in a crazed frenzy continued to bash the deceased soldier as he lay prostate. We will visit that hero and legend of the Argyll s in Kanchanaburi War Cemetery. References: Neimi, Robert History in the Media Film and Television 9