To End All Wars — Biblical Theism and the Art of Subversion
For our first session of Film and Theology we watched To End All Wars. The script, written by Brian Godawa, is an adaptation of Ernest Gordon’s book, Through the Valley of the Kwai. Ernest was a POW in World War II and the story chronicles his imprisonment in a Japanese work camp which helped build the 258 mile railway through the jungles of Thailand and Myanmar. The 1957 film Bridge on the River Kwai, starring Alec Guinness, is loosely based upon these events.
I chose this as the first film in our series because it gives us a vivid picture of the gospel, as it spreads amidst the conflict of two opposing cultures, and a compelling positive example of subversion, which I hope we will learn to emulate.
———-SPOILER ALERT———-
As with all of our Film and Theology reviews we would suggest that you watch the movie prior to reading.
Worldview
One of the things that I really appreciate about this film is its balanced portrayal of the Japanese and Western worldviews. We are introduced to the Bushido code when the Colonel intervenes to stop Ito from beating Campbell and Ito exclaims, “Take this disrespectful scum instead. You will respect the hierarchy.” In a following scene we are introduced to the worldview of the prisoners which is described as “survival of the fittest, every man for himself.”
The criticism of the western worldview comes early as Ernest fights a fellow prisoner over food. When he realizes the horror of what he is becoming we hear his thoughts asking, “What does it take for a man to loose his dignity? How far can a man fall to pay the price of survival?” Nearing the Japanese worldview is powerfully countered when the allied prisoners give aid to wounded Japanese soldiers who abandoned their posts in search of help. In the end we find that both of these worldviews leave us wanting. Neither the Japanese worldview that prizes the empire over the individual nor the Western worldview which prizes the individual over all else will suffice; rather we are left with a vision of humanity that exists somewhere in between these two worldviews.
Subversion
This film also paints a powerful picture of biblical subversion. In a dialogue between Ernest and Takashi we are given a critical explanation of the Bushido code that is the cultural basis for one of the most powerful scenes in the movie.
[Takashi]: “You’re a good teacher.”
[Ernest]: “What’s your name?”
[Takashi]: “I’m Nagase, Takashi Nagase.”
[Ernest]: “Hello Takashi. I’m Ernest. I’ve actually been wondering, where you learned such excellent English?”
[Takashi]: “I was educated at Cambridge. To be a good translator, I thought, one must understand the culture.”
[Ernest]: “So what do you think of the British?”
[Takashi]: “I think there is a lot to learn from them.”
[Ernest]: “Can I ask you honorable Takashi what you’re doing here in this camp?”
[Takashi]: “I was classified low physical fitness. A prisoner of war camp is not an honorable place for a Japanese soldier. It is more like punishment; shame for his entire family.”
[Ernest]: “Well what about Sergeant Ito? Surely he is the consummate soldier?”
[Takashi]: “He accepted the blame for the bad decision that his superior made, it resulted in the death of most of his squad.
[Ernest]: “So that’s why he’s so bitter?”
[Takashi]: “No, in Bushido it is an honor to be punished in the place of your superior. According to our imperial prescript in the Emperor’s army a single life weighs less than a feather.”
Takashi was right; in order to be a good translator you must understand the culture. And Dusty understood this aspect of the Bushido code when he asked Ito to punish him in the place of Ian Campbell. Dusty was able to take the Japanese worldview and discern its similarities with the gospel and then powerfully display the gospel in a way that spoke profoundly to the Japanese soldiers.
Because the Japanese operate out of an honor and shame worldview we must see Dusty’s substitutional sacrifice in terms of this; Dusty has chosen to bear Campbell’s shame in the same way that Ito bore the shame of his superior officer. This moment is powerfully contrasted by Ito’s suicide where he, in accordance to the Japanese worldview, atones for his shame by taking his own life. This is what makes Dusty’s sacrifice so powerful and what makes the gospel so powerful. Among a people who deeply recognize the need to address their shame we can boldly proclaim that one has stood in their place and taken their shame upon Himself.
Subversion is a two way street; just as we are attempting to subvert other worldviews they are trying equally as hard to subvert the gospel. What we were able to see here positively we will also see negatively as later we will study films which aim to subvert the gospel.
Biblical Theism
This film is fantastic in its portrayal of biblical theism in that it does not give us the trite candy-coated picture of Christianity found in so many “Christian” films. Rather it confronts us with a picture of self-sacrifice that challenges the very essence of what it means to be human. This film does such a fantastic job because it forces questions upon the viewer which the film leaves unanswered. There is much more that I could say and indeed would like to say but I think it best to leave you where the film ends and so I offer you Ernest’s closing dialogue.
“What is the consequence of a single life weighing less than a feather? What is the final destination of hatred? When you look in the eyes of the enemy and you see yourself. At what price mercy? Who is my neighbor? How many times shall I forgive my brother? What does it mean to love ones enemies? What can a man give in exchange for ones soul? These are the questions that I faced in my prison camp; the answers changed my life forever.”
