RETURN FROM THE RIVER KWAI

UK, 1988, 101 minutes, Colour.
Edward Fox, Denholm Elliot, Christopher Penn, Timothy Bottoms, George Takei, Nick Tate.
Directed by Andrew V.Mc Laglan.

Return from the River Kwai is not a sequel to the '50s Bridge on the River Kwai. Rather this is a war action adventure with a focus on Japanese treatment of prisoners of war in Thailand. The screenplay was co-written by Paul Meyersberg (writer of more art film style movies as Captive, Castaway, Eureka) and Sargon Tamini.

The film was directed by Andrew V. Mc Laglen, best known for action adventures, especially westerns. His war films include The Devil's Brigade and Breakthrough.

The film has an international cast with a number of British actors including Edward Fox and Denholm Elliott, some Americans, Christopher Penn and Timothy Bottoms (who appears as an Australian seaman) and Nick Tate from Australia. There is also a Japanese cast led by George Takei.

The material of the film is familiar: the prisoner of war camps, the Japanese overseers of the work, executions in the camp, attempts to escape, the resistance in the jungle, American flyers and submarines. The incident of the Brazil Mauro and the prisoners of war on the Japanese ship bears a resemblance to a story of 1942 of the Montevideo Mauro which was torpedoed by the Americans and had many hundreds of Allied prisoners of war on board.

1. The impact of this film as war drama? Action adventure? Its relationship with the original?

2. Reprising the River Kwai themes in the '80s? So many years after the war? Attitudes towards the war, to the Japanese, to the experience of prisoners of war? Thailand?

3. The location photography? The atmosphere? The jungle, the sea? The musical score and the range of songs (`Waltzing Matilda' and `Pack Up Your Troubles'...)?

4. The characters, stereotypes? Development of characters? Expected plot turns? The collection of prisoners, their work, hunger, treatment? Executions? The harsh Japanese? The sympathetic Japanese? The behaviour of the American pilot?

5. The portrait of the Japanese characters? Tanaka and his severity? The attack, reprisal executions? The counter action by Major Harada? Harada and his memories of pre-war London? Tanaka and the patrols, the killing of villagers? The beheading of Seaman Miller? The Brazil Mauro? The plan to load the prisoners and take them to Japan? The revolt led by Hunt? The killing of the Japanese captain, Harada's death? The final confrontation between Tanaka and Hunt, Benford killing Tanaka?

6. The atmosphere of 1945, the defeat of Japan, Allied bombings? The executions?

7. The prisoners in the camp and their response to the Japanese? To the massacres? Crawford and his coming into the camp, his torture? The beheading of Miller? The group going onto the ship, Hunt leading the revolt? The battle on the boat? The rescue?

8. The characterisation of Hunt, the Australian background? Benford and his particularly British style - even to caricature? The clashes, the policy on escapes? The transfer to the ship? The clashes on the ship? The raft?

9. Crawford the American, the crash, the rescue? In the jungle, teaming up with Grayson? His mission? The capture, the torture? His escape, taking the plant? The lack of fuel, the crash-landing, the arrival of the submarine, the rescue?

10. Grayson and the resistance mission, under cover? The rescue of Crawford, action in the jungle? His death?

11. Miller, the escape attempts, his beheading?

12. The blend of the serious themes about the experience of prisoners of war with conventional war action drama? The film as a memoir of the River Kwai?