To follow up on this post, I wished to commend to you one of my favorite movies of all time: To End All Wars. From Wiki:
What makes this such a powerful film for me is the outworking of "justice" through three groups of people. In the movie, the POW's form an underground school and begin discussing Plato's Republic. One group of POW's believe that justice entails doing good to one's friends and harm to one's enemy, a concept of justice spoken of in The Republic. The second group are the remaining POWs who believe Jesus Christ was the Just One and justice must entail following the teachings of Christ, including his command to love enemies. The third group are the Japanese soldiers, and most importantly, the soldier/warrior who was directly in charge of the prisoners. This third group follow the principles of Bushido which regulates the different classes of society- a view of justice very similar to Plato's.
So we see in the film Plato's Republican society at work. Within this camp some are trying to do harm to the guardians of the camp, and others seek to bless them. One group tries to topple the society through violence, the other overcomes the unjust society through love. It is a great movie.
Oh, by the way, it is a true story (in every sense of the phrase)!
To End All Wars is a 2001 war film starring Robert Carlyle, Kiefer Sutherland and Sakae Kimura and directed by David L. Cunningham. The film is set in a Japanese prisoner of war labour camp where the inmates are building the Burma Railway during the last three and a half years of World War II. It was filmed primarily in Waimea Canyon, on the island of Kauai, Hawai'i, with some excerpt shots of Thailand. The film was awarded the Crystal Heart Award and Grand Prize for Dramatic Feature at the Heartland Film Festival.
The screenplay is based on the autobiography of Ernest Gordon and recounts the experiences of faith and hope of the ínterned men. The autobiography was originally published under the name Through the Valley of the Kwai, then later as Miracle on the River Kwai and finally re-issued with the title To End All Wars to tie in with the film.
What makes this such a powerful film for me is the outworking of "justice" through three groups of people. In the movie, the POW's form an underground school and begin discussing Plato's Republic. One group of POW's believe that justice entails doing good to one's friends and harm to one's enemy, a concept of justice spoken of in The Republic. The second group are the remaining POWs who believe Jesus Christ was the Just One and justice must entail following the teachings of Christ, including his command to love enemies. The third group are the Japanese soldiers, and most importantly, the soldier/warrior who was directly in charge of the prisoners. This third group follow the principles of Bushido which regulates the different classes of society- a view of justice very similar to Plato's.
So we see in the film Plato's Republican society at work. Within this camp some are trying to do harm to the guardians of the camp, and others seek to bless them. One group tries to topple the society through violence, the other overcomes the unjust society through love. It is a great movie.
Oh, by the way, it is a true story (in every sense of the phrase)!
Ron, I am using this post today in my Ancient World Humanities class in connection with having taught through Plato's Republic. I remembered the scenes from the movie and was looking online to see if anyone had commented on the connection. Thanks. Ben House, also a Christian!
ReplyDeleteBen, I forgot this blog was still active! I don't know if you remember, but I met you at the ACCS Conference in Orlando (or maybe Dallas?). I am Headmaster at Providence Academy in Green Bay.
DeleteThanks for the comment- I always have my students watch To End All War after reading The Republic.