King Rat takes place in Changi prison, a Japanese POW camp in Malaysia holding British and American soldiers, many of whom have been there a long time. Central to the action is Corporal King, an American soldier whose wheeling and dealing and black market activities with the locals have allowed him to establish a decent life for himself, a small fiefdom amongst the near-starvation of his fellow prisoners. His payroll includes a variety of other soldiers, including officers who in normal military circumstances would vastly outrank him. But, life in Changi creates its own social structure.
I wasn't sure what to expect from the movie, and the name made me think it might be something silly. But, this isn't really a film about war buddies, despite the large focus on the relationship between King and the Peter Marlowe, an upper-class, multilingual British Lieutenant. King Rat certainly is not a comedy. Overall, it's a bleak - yet highly memorable - film about survival that raises a lot of questions about morality under difficult circumstances.
King is cast as the lead, in an anti-hero role, and, throughout the film, Lieutenant Grey - a British officer who serves as camp provost in charge of overseeing supplies and rules compliance - serves as the nemesis of sorts. It's a fascinating parallel, because Grey serves the interests of the camp as a whole, attempting to ensure everyone has enough food and no one is stealing, while King's enterprise is focused on self-enrichment. Even as the film progresses towards the conclusion, you're left wondering whether King's seemingly generous decisions in fact were transactional all along.
This was a powerful movie, and seeing it was a pleasant surprise. It's an engrossing character study, with plenty of social commentary on class structures and human hierarchies. It's well worth a watch.
I wasn't sure what to expect from the movie, and the name made me think it might be something silly. But, this isn't really a film about war buddies, despite the large focus on the relationship between King and the Peter Marlowe, an upper-class, multilingual British Lieutenant. King Rat certainly is not a comedy. Overall, it's a bleak - yet highly memorable - film about survival that raises a lot of questions about morality under difficult circumstances.
King is cast as the lead, in an anti-hero role, and, throughout the film, Lieutenant Grey - a British officer who serves as camp provost in charge of overseeing supplies and rules compliance - serves as the nemesis of sorts. It's a fascinating parallel, because Grey serves the interests of the camp as a whole, attempting to ensure everyone has enough food and no one is stealing, while King's enterprise is focused on self-enrichment. Even as the film progresses towards the conclusion, you're left wondering whether King's seemingly generous decisions in fact were transactional all along.
This was a powerful movie, and seeing it was a pleasant surprise. It's an engrossing character study, with plenty of social commentary on class structures and human hierarchies. It's well worth a watch.