The Geneva Convention Protocol In The Bridge On The River Kwai

All three of the films effectively portray Geneva convention protocol. In the film The Bridge on the River Kwai, the Japanese head of the camp finally agrees to adhere to the rule of no officers doing manual labor. This is clearly highlighted in article 22, paragraph one of the Geneva Convention. In the film Stalag 17, provisions can be seen in Esgain and Solf’s writing. It is established that POWs should be held in adequate and sanitary housing (Esgain and Solf, 581). In the film, the camp inspector was looking for just that in the scene where he asks Sefton why he is visibly battered. Finally, in the film Road to Guantanamo, the Geneva Convention is at work when questioning the prisoners. In the film, when the three friends are captured, they are asked for their name, age, and rank. This is also established in article 17, paragraph one of the Geneva Convention.

For example, in the first film Bridge Over the River Kwai, the Japanese head of camp would not adhere to Geneva convention in the respect of officer labor. Prior to the British Colonel and his troops arriving, officers were hard at work in the camp. In Stalag 17 protocol was broken on the grounds of equal treatment (Article 16, pg 154). Within the film, Sefton was making deals and bribing the camp guards which led to preferential treatment. Finally, within Road to Guantanamo, it was quite clear that protocol was being broken. When the prisoners had made it to Guantanamo, they were denied the ability to pray. According to Geneva convention, “…prisoners may practise their religious faith, whatever it may be. (Article 34,