Taglines: Their love was a bridge between two worlds.
Bridge to the Sun movie storyline. In 1935, nineteen year old Gwen Harold of Johnson City, Tennessee, is visiting her Aunt Peg and her casual beau Fred Tyson, a low level bureaucrat, in Washington DC. Fred is able to get them an invitation to the Japanese Embassy’s annual reception. At that gathering, they meet among others Hidenari Terasaki – called Terry for ease by Americans – the Under Secretary to the Japanese Ambassador.
Terry and Gwen start to date, fall in love and decide that they want to get married. The entire process leading to this point has not been easy for either as she has largely hidden their relationship from her family due to the racial divide, and as his diplomatic post makes marrying anyone not Japanese difficult in what are increasingly tense geopolitical times globally. They are able to get married, which only increases the difficulties in their life, especially as Gwen is ill-prepared to accept the patriarchal customs of Japanese society, Terry who is expecting her to be a typical Japanese wife, most specifically while they are in Japan.
Their problems are increased exponentially with the events of December 7, 1941. Terry, a Japanese national, is not allowed to stay in the US under the circumstances. Gwen has to decide to follow Terry back to Tokyo, he who she still loves despite their problems, or stay in the relative safety of the US. They now have a young daughter Mako Terasaki to consider, Mako who will face prejudices on both sides. Beyond Terry being sent back to Japan, he has to decide to stay true to his professional obligations and work for the Japanese war effort or stay true to his love for Gwen in not only protecting her and Mako but not work toward killing Americans.
Bridge to the Sun is a 1961 film, directed by Etienne Périer, starring Carroll Baker, James Shigeta, Tetsurō Tamba, Lee Payant, Ruth Masters, Sean Garrison, Hiroshi Tomono, Emi Florence Hirsch and Nori Elisabeth Hermann. It is based on the 1957 autobiography Bridge To The Sun by Gwen Terasaki, which detailed events in Gwen’s life and marriage.
About the Story
Gwen Harold, an American woman from Tennessee, meets Hidenari Terasaki (called Terry by his friends and family), the secretary to the Japanese Ambassador, while attending a reception at the Japanese Embassy in Washington D.C. with her Aunt Peggy and friend Bill. They share a moment while Terry is showing her the antique Japanese artworks on display in the Embassy, and after some reluctance, she agrees to allow him to call on her.
They begin dating and they quickly fall in love, even though Terry occasionally has fits of anti-western sentiment. When Terry asks her to marry him, she agrees, much to the chagrin of Aunt Peggy (who was raised in the Jim Crow South), and who sees the relationship as unnatural, especially when there are “nice clean young men” available. The Japanese Ambassador also calls on Gwen and attempts to dissuade her from accepting, claiming it would hurt Terry’s career by giving him an American bias, and states that even though the two countries are friendly, anything could happen between foreign countries. He seems to hint at possible aggression in the future, even though it is only 1935 and the Japanese have not yet resumed conflicts with China, keeping the countries of Gwen and Terry at an uneasy peace. They eventually marry despite the obstacles and, when Terry is recalled, travel to Japan by ship.
Almost immediately after disembarking and arriving in Tokyo, Terry begins to treat Gwen much differently, expecting her to behave according to the male-centric beliefs of contemporary Japan, such as being silent among men, always entering doors after the men, and virtually bending to every whim of Terry and her male relatives. They continually fight and make up, mostly because of Gwen’s outspokenness among men and Terry’s strict adherence to the local customs.
After having a fight one night over a general saying that Terry should be proud he may have a son to die for the Emperor, and Gwen speaking out about his distasteful comment, they make up and she reveals that she was so offended by the comment because she is pregnant. The baby daughter is named Mako.
By November 1941 Terry has been reassigned to the Embassy in America. They have Thanksgiving dinner in Washington with Aunt Peggy, as World War II embroils the world around them and America is one of the few powers of the world still at peace. Terry speaks on the phone with his friend Haro. He mentions that Mako, now about 5 years old, has an apparent illness involving too many antibodies in her blood. He also mentions a possible upcoming invasion of Thailand by the Imperial Japanese Army.
Sensing that it may be the last chance for peace between America and the Empire of Japan, Terry attempts to go over the heads of his superiors and have a cable sent directly to President Roosevelt, alerting him to cable the Emperor to seek to preserve the peace. However, the Emperor is rapidly becoming the leader of Japan in name only, because of a power struggle with the army leaders. Terry’s effort is in vain as December 7th comes and war is declared shortly after the Japanese attack.
Terry calls Gwen after hearing of the attack and tells her to leave Washington for Tennessee with Mako, but the FBI enter and force her to hang up the phone. She decides to accompany Terry back to Japan, as he is due to be deported in an Ambassador exchange, and there is nearly a riot as she leaves with the other Japanese families, because of anti-Japanese fervor sweeping the nation in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, The Philippines, and other European and American held colonies and bases in the Pacific and Asia.
In Japan, a similar nationalist, anti-American hatred, is shown among the citizens. Terry, however, is less enthusiastic about the war, and attempts to be a mediator for peace, which is dangerous due to sentiment and secret police. Gwen is briefly accosted by a group of soldiers, who try and force her to walk on an American flag. She refuses and an air raid begins, causing panic in the streets as bombs begin to destroy the area. She sees a crying child and remembering her daughter, runs to the smoldering school to rescue Mako, who says that children had hit her and called her an American.
Bridge to the Sun (1961)
Directed by: Etienne Périer
Starring: Carroll Baker, James Shigeta, Tetsurō Tamba, Lee Payant, Ruth Masters, Sean Garrison, Hiroshi Tomono, Emi Florence Hirsch, Nori Elisabeth Hermann
Screenplay by: Charles Kaufman
Production Design by:
Cinematography by: William J. Kelly, Seiichi Kitsuke, Marcel Weiss
Film Editing by: Monique Isnardon, Robert Isnardon
Set Decoration by: Robert Bouladoux
Art Direction by: Hiroshi Mizutani, René Daudin, Mary Roche
Music by: Georges Auric
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Release Date: October 17, 1961
Views: 146