The Bridge on the River Kwai: An Appreciation by Filmmaker John Milius

This short film makes it clear, why there may be a bridge over the Kwai, but not between someone who grew up with Hollywood and someone who grew up with "Battleship Potemkin", "La strada", "Jules et Jim" or "Stalker". Wim Wenders once mentioned, that the Americans have colonized our subconscious. How true. It is the great misfortune of the ruling understanding of film. And it is the result of the sheer fact that USA is where the big money is. That is bad enough. But the expression in the faces of people like Milius makes it even worse. Compared with them, Fellinis Zampano is a likeable person.