Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
, also known as , is a 1983 war film co-written and directed by Nagisa Ōshima, co-written by Paul Mayersberg, and produced by Jeremy Thomas. The film is based on the experiences of Sir Laurens van der Post (portrayed by Tom Conti as Lt. Col. John Lawrence) as a prisoner of war in Java (Japanese-occupied Dutch East Indies) during World War II, as depicted in his books The Seed and the Sower (1963) and The Night of the New Moon (1970). It stars David Bowie, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Takeshi Kitano and Jack Thompson; Sakamoto also composed and played the musical score including the vocal version of the main theme "Forbidden Colours", with lyrics written and sung by David Sylvian.
Plot
In 1942, Captain Yonoi is the commander of the POW camp in Lebak Sembada in Japanese-occupied Java. A strict adherent to the bushido code, his only sources of connection to the prisoners lie in the empathetic Lt. Col. John Lawrence, the only inmate fluent in Japanese, and the abrasive spokesman Gp. Capt. Hicksley, who repeatedly resists Yonoi's attempts to find weapons experts among the prisoners for the Japanese army's interests. Lawrence has befriended Sgt. Gengo Hara, but remains at odds with the rest of the staff. Summoned to the military trial of the recently captured Major Jack Celliers, Yonoi is fascinated by his resilience and has him interned at the camp. After the trial, Yonoi confides in Lawrence that he is haunted with shame due to his absence during the February 26 Incident, believing he should have died alongside the rebels and implying that his focus on honour stems from this. Sensing a kindred spirit in Celliers, Yonoi's fascination grows into a romantic obsession: he treats him specially, watches him sleep, and repeatedly asks Hara about him in private.
Cast
- Akihiro Masuda
- Alistair Browning
- Arthur Ranford
- Atsuo Yamashita
- Barry Dorking
- Chris Broun
- Colin Francis
- Daisuke Iijima
- David Bowie
- Don Stevens
- Geoff Allen
- Geoff Clendon
- Grant Bridger
- Heiwa Yoshihara
- Hidenobu Togo
- Hideo Murota
- Hisao Takeda
- Ian Miller
- Jack Thompson
- James Malcolm
- Johnny Okura
- Kan Mikami
- Kaname Shimura
- Kenzo Shirahama
- Kunihide Kuruma
- Marcus Campbell
- Mark Berg
- Mark Penrose
- Martin Ibbertson
- Masaki Kusakabe
- Masamichi Shibasaki
- Masanori Okada
- Michael Baxter-Lax
- Mikami Hiroshi
- Richard Adams
- Richard Hensby
- Richard Hoare
- Richard Mills
- Richard Zimmerman
- Rintaro Shibata
- Rob Jayne
- Rokkô Toura
- Ryuichi Sakamoto
- Ryūnosuke Kaneda
- Shoetsu Sato
- Stephen Taylor
- Steve Smith
- Takashi Naitō
- Takashi Odashima
- Takeshi Kitano
- Takeshi Nagasawa
- Takeshi Yu
- Tamio Ishikura
- Tokuhisa Masuda
- Tom Conti
- Yôichi Iijima
- Yûji Honma
- Yuya Uchida
More details
| author | Laurens van der Post Nagisa Ōshima Paul Mayersberg |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | Java |
| director | Nagisa Ōshima |
| editor | Tomoyo Oshima |
| events | homosexuality Pacific War World War II |
| genre | drama |
| keywords | allies of world war ii ally batman betray boarding school bully bury bushido capture february 26 incident force haunt japanese army japanese occupation of the dutch east indies japanese-occupied kill kindred spirit pow prisoner of war seppuku sick bay summon war crimes |
| musicBy | Ryuichi Sakamoto |
| producer | Jeremy Thomas |
| productionCompany | Antares-Nova N.V. Asahi National Broadcasting Broadbank Investments National Film Trustee Company Oshima Productions Recorded Picture Company |
| publisher | Everand Films Nippon Herald Films Palace Pictures |
| recordedAt | Auckland Rarotonga |
| theme | japanese war |