The Movie

The movie Bridge on the River Kiwai is set in the context of the Second
World War. The movie starts off in a Japanese controlled prison camp in
Thailand. A group of British POWs headed by Colonel Nicholson is ordered
to build a bridge which is of prime importance in the context of the war to
the Japanese military. The Prison camp is under the command of General
Saito who is entrusted the task of completing the bridge on time.

The movie revolves around these two leaders and their decisions and
reactions to various situations.
General Saito
General Saito was given the job of building the bridge on time. As the
bridge was strategically very important for the Army, he was under
immense pressure the complete it on time. He had the task of leading the
group of captured British soldiers along with the Japanese military to
accomplish the task.

He was ready to use his position as the leader of the camp and impose his
authority to make sure that his was the final word in the camp. In one of
the first scenes in the movie General Saito rubbishes the Geneva
Convention (Guidelines on how the POWs should be treated) which
exempts officers from working. He was ready to use coercive power he had
over the POWs to get his work done, however his ultimate aim of building
the bridge required fresh thinking and ingenuity as well as fresh ideas to
succeed. This may not have been possible under extreme conditions and
forceful labor.

General Saito comes as being a very determined individual. He also shows
that he is very steadfast when it comes to obedience. The scene where he


looks at a Japanese soldier guarding his office forcing him to maintain his
position even in the heavy rain demonstrates the same.

General Saito demonstrated his ability to lead and stick with his decisions
when faced with opposition from Colonel Nicholson, even when he was
under immense timeline crunch to finish the bridge. He was not ready to
budge and this shows his ability to lead from the front for a cause. He was
ready to sacrifice and ready to bend any restrictions in order to achieve the
final goal.

He also shows positive leadership skills during the course of the bridge
construction. In one of the first scenes in the movie during his address to
the POWs he tells that they will be treated well if they behave well and
punished if they misbehaved. He was trying to set the power equation
straight here and also let the prisoners realize that he was a fair leader. He
also rewarded the prisoners and gave them days off to rest. He was using
the reward power he had with him to make sure his work was completed
on time.
Colonel Nicholson
Colonel Nicholson was the leader of the British POWs in the camp. He
comes as being a very task oriented leader. He stands up for what is right
and was ready to take bear any consequence of it. His mini rebellion against
General Saito to prove a point on the Geneva Convention demonstrates
this trait. He was adamant in his belief and was ready to sacrifice himself to
prove this point. Even when placed under immense pressure from General
Saito he was not ready to back down. He was not ready to order his officers
to work and was ready to bear any consequence of it. He did not back
down from his stand and this ultimately lead to the collapse of one of his
own officer as well as his imprisonment along with the officers. Colonel
Nicholson was placed under solitary confinement and even this did not
make him back down from his stance. By doing this he demonstrated


extreme strength and resolve to everybody in the camp including General
Saito.

Upon his release from Solitary confinement Colonel Nicholson galvanized
his men to build the bridge on time. This shows positive leadership based
on the situation. He inspected the bridge when he was released and
concluded that the construction was not up to the mark and even the
location chosen is not effective. He was able to convince everybody on the
need to redesign and relocate the bridge to a better location. He realized
that constructing the bridge was the only way to give his men a sense of
purpose in the otherwise hostile environment of the Prison Camp.

Colonel Nicholson was concerned about the well being of his men and was
ready to adapt based on the situation. His current goal and aim at the camp
was to make sure that his men were occupied and in good spirits. By
building the bridge and providing a sense of achievement to his soldiers he
converts the feeling of humiliation in to a sense of pride and achievement.

The Dilemma
One argument that can be made about Colonel Nicholson is that he did see
the bigger picture of the war. By building the bridge he was helping their
enemies achieve their goal. The bridge was strategically important to the
Japanese and was to form an integral supply route. Colonel Nicholson can
be argued to be a short sighted leader looking only at the micro level
situation in the prison camp rather that the macro level picture of the war.
He never realized if what he was doing was to satisfy his own ego or for the
better good of the British Army?



Other Characters
Major Clipton, who interfered when General Saito was about to take the
extreme step on the British officers. He showed courage in doing so.

Mr. Shears who impersonates a dead officer to get better treatment. He
comes as a passive individual whose aim is self sustenance.

Major Warden who plans to destroy the bridge before it becomes useful.
He is driven the sense of pride about his job and wants to destroy the
enemys advantage.

The End
The movie ends in a catastrophic fashion. Major Warden is able to line the
bridge with explosives, which explodes just as the train was approaching.