Ernest (McMenamin) is the center of the film, the philosophy teacher who shipped out with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, drawn by the glory of war and the chance to see the world. We pick up the story just after they have been captured. The Allies, seen as less-than-human by their Japanese captors, are rounded up, blindfolded, and loaded onto trucks. The opening is beautifully filmed, with some good POV shots that go far to put us in the action quickly. Captured with Ernest are Major Campbell (Carlyle) and the cynical, weary Reardon (Sutherland). Reardon is the only American in the group, and the only one who has any idea what makes the Japanese tick. Reardon is out for himself. When asked what he wants to do after the war, he says that he wants to go into business for himself, prostitutes, the black market, that kind of thing. Sutherland is not bad in the role; he is actually quite good. But his performance has a phoned-in quality to it, like he was just killing time between seasons of 24.

Carlyle is a bit better. I have been a fan of his since Trainspotting, and he is just as intense here. When the regiment’s father-figure commanding officer is killed, command is bestowed to Major Campbell, whose anger simmers, his hatred towards the “nips” building over the course of the film. Escape is the only thing on his mind, escape at any cost. We see far too little of Major Campbell, our sense of what he is thinking coming too often through voice-over narration. The whole film suffers from too much voice-over, much of it needless and tiresome. Too often it is used to point out the obvious, and more than once it works to the detriment of the suspense. Ernest is the film’s narrator, so as he lies dying in the camp’s hospital, called the “Death House,” he continues to give narration as to how he is feeling. When the characters first arrive at the camp, the prisoners learn that landing in the Death House equals certain death. But since Ernest is narrating, the audience knows that he is going to beat the odds and survive, which kills the suspense.

The construction of the railroad is largely a backdrop, and we see very little of its construction. Nearly 16,000 soldiers died building it, but there is very little in the film that gives a sense of the gravity of so many lives lost. We never even get a sense of just how many people are in the camp, or how many are working on the railroad. It must be a lot, because they finish six months ahead of schedule, but this must be inferred. In fact, we never see any soldiers that have been worked to death. The soldiers who die in To End All Wars are killed by their Japanese captors. Some are shot, one is crucified, but we never see the conditions claiming any of them.

The acting is the best thing about the film. Sutherland, while not his best performance, does well to bring off the arc of his character. Reardon goes from being the self-centered lout, to the selfless soldier who takes a paralyzing beating just to keep a mistake from bringing more harm to his fellow captives. Carlyle gives a nuanced performance as the major who descends into self-hatred as he comes to realize that he is no different than Ito, the brutal Japanese soldier running the camp.

The theme of similarities between the two sides is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the film. The Allied prisoners have, in the eyes of their captors, been disgraced because they allowed themselves to be taken prisoner; it would have been better for them to kill themselves. As we come to find out, the Japanese soldiers who run the camp have been disgraced themselves as well. As Takashi, the translator, says, “It is like a punishment” to be assigned prison duty. The similarities are what push Major Campbell over the edge. As he tortures Ito in the end, he says something to the effect that, had the roles been reversed, he would have been the same way. Ciarán McMenamin is the real find here. His character is there to record the travesty, so he has the flattest arc of the three, but his performance is stellar. I would be curious to see what the actor does in the future.

Director’s Commentary: We learn a little about how the film came to be, about the shooting of certain scenes. It could have better, but it also could have been worse.