This film is now over 60 years old, but the portrayal of live in Colonial Borneo seems much older than that.
I say that because I'm sure that 21st century people who have little or no knowledge of those times will probably find it hard to believe that the characters depicted in this film could have ever lived (and loved) in the way shown here. However, I've no doubt it is an accurate picture of life in the 1940's for a number of women who were caught up in the tide of war. I can't remember where I first heard about this film, but it was worth watching. The acting is superb from the entire cast, and as with so many films of this vintage, the locations and sets are as close to the real thing as they are ever likely to get, being shot in the actual locations where the story takes place.
I started to think that the film was overly sentimental, even a little mawkish at times, but then realised that it was me, looking throuh jaundiced 21st century eyes that made such an interpretaion. Thinking about people I've known who lived though these times, yes, a man and a woman COULD feel so strongly about each other, surviving for just a kiss or a hold of the hands.
It's a long way from "Sex and The City", but it's a great picture, and it's a true story. It's not a war film as such, but a tale of love and survival. A little predictable, perhaps but none the less it's a good story. The Japanese are shown in a realistic way for a change; like most people, there are good and bad. Sometimes though, it's hard to tell. Is the Japanese Colonel a good man or a bad man? Judge him for yourself, I won't give the game away here!
I found myself asking at the end of the film "Could I have survived all that?" I'm still wondering.