John von K All through this film you are aware of the writer sitting at his Keyboard trying to be profound and deep. The result is a self important wafer of a film. There is no sense of the real suffering these men went through all the actors have healthy white teeth and apart from a few token skinny actors they all look well fed and cared for. The hell of the camp and building the railroad is simply a background for pretentious waffle. There is absolutely no cinematic flair. The narration is cringe-worthy and naive. Try Byan Forbes' harrowing and realistic "King Rat" instead.

futures-1 "To End all Wars": Starring Robert Carlyle ("Go Now"), Keifer Sutherland, and MANY talented men. As the film began, it felt like a cousin to "Bridge on the River Kwai", but the plot slowly morphed to an even MORE complex set of ethical issues, with divisions not seen in that great 1950's film. I see this new one as more related to the movie "Andersonville" - our own true American tragedy of a P.O.W. camp during the Civil War - and what THAT experience demanded of those interned. "To End all Wars" is certainly an anti-war film, and a true story, but looks at many individuals for the complexity of dealing with the horror...and offers bits of consolation...where it can be found. Its elegant ending reminded me of "Schindler's List". "To End all Wars" deserves to be considered a PROFOUND film.

JohnHandyman I rented this film not having read or researched any information regarding the true events behind it. I was surprised, and incensed to look further into the story.From the perspective of a movie, the actors, directing, etc were all very well put together and played. Kieffer Sutherland brought his character to pulling you into his part, Mark Strong and Ciaran McMenamin played their parts as kindred spirits excellently.The best acting was Sakae Kimura playing Sgt. Ito. He never spoke a line of English through the film, but his facial expressions spoke massive volumes! I was completely taken aback with how well he communicated without even speaking my native tongue. My hat is off to him for such an excellent performance.If you enjoy films about humanity, perseverance against all odds, and learning the atrocities of war this will be well worth your time!

ppaulpadam For anyone who is interested in learning more about Ernest, please find his book. It was called Miracle On The River Kwaii. It may have been changed to To End All....I knew Ernest and he was helpful to me in my life. The movie doesn't go deeply into some of the torture that was really experienced - the book does so be warned.The character of Dusty is also a bit different in the book. The juxtaposition of his true sense of simplicity, and the other inmates intellectual prowess, anger and rage about their treatment is very interesting. How Ernest could survive - how any of them survived is beyond belief. Perhaps the Japanese sense of "Bushido" and many of the current Islamic beliefs show a parallel hereIt is helpful and hopeful. Ernest was a great man. I have made a web page about him and the film here if you have an interest www.pauladams.org/Stories/ErnestGordon.htm