pisrgofort This movie is war story. There are a lot of brutal scene. I could know war situation and Japanese army. In past, Japanese people used sword and gun. Now, Japan use only gun. But this time, they used two items. So we can watch Western culture and Japanese culture. Also, I'm surprised because Japanese people speak English fluently. We can know that Japan develop culture in this time. This movie notices that we don't know whether our decision is correct or not. This is a very difficult problem and everyone don't know this answer. Also, this film shows that why people fight against with enemy. So I think we must keep peace because we are same equal humankind.

ribeirolouanne « Senjo no Merry Christmas »"Merry Christmas Mister Lawrence" is a sentence used twice in the movie in the middle and at the end, in fact during key times. "Furyo" is the European name of the movie; it refers to the Japanese "war prisoners".Story: The story takes place during World War II in a prisoner camp in Java Island (Indonesia), the camp is led by the Japanese, English and American soldiers are prisoners. Captain Yonoi (Ryuichi Sakamoto) is the director of the camp. He's authoritative, nobody can bear him and all fear him… he embodies the traditional Japanese way of mind, which will be totally jeopardized by a new captive, Jack Celliers (David Bowie) an English soldier. Celliers will defend himself and is state of mind all along the movie. During the movie we follow this total clash of culture between the two soldiers, a clash which will approach them. The two guys… We can notice another duo ,with colonel Jonh Lawrence (Tom Conti) who is able to talk Japanese and sergeant Hara (Takeshi Kitano), they are in good term but the war create a gap between them…Characters: 1-David Bowie is major Jack Celliers… I think it's true to say that it is Bowie's best role on screen , however he ranks under the performance of Conti… moreover it's a bit pity that he didn't take part in the film music just because he thought it could discredit his performance…2- Ryuchi Sakamoto is captain Yonoi, Sakamoto was then considered in Japan as Bowie in the West, he did the soundtrack of the movie. Through him we see all the complexity of the samurai tradition; he doesn't know what to do when facing other customs, there is a part of love and a part of fear; he is already a round character. There are some stereotypes about the Asian performance (for example: the overplay) but here these ones are inexistent he suits the character without any kind of artifact…3- Tom Conti embodies colonel Lawrence, thanks to this movie Conti received an award for the best actor by the National Board of Review, and I think its nothing for such a good performance …4- Takeshi Kitano is Sergeant Genjo Hara, he is the one who says "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" , he is the only Japanese who has something… I don't know… human? First we imagine that he is a flat character (mostly because he drinks a lot) but we realize it's wrong, he is a key character in the storyThere are many more characters but these ones are the most important. However it's a shame that Conti and Kitano don't appear on the European cove because they are as interesting as Bowie and Sakamoto!The soundtrack: In this movie you cannot forget to talk about the soundtrack! First: because there are two pop stars in the movie: David Bowie and Ryuichi Sakamoto…and because it's just wonderful. Sure Bowie didn't take parts of it but whoa! I'm just breathtaking by so much emotion just in a song…Personal opinion :Sure everything is clever, the actors performance, the different scenes with many long shots which are great, and the soundtrack, sorry The soundtrack! But I don't want to watch it again … I don't know why , I was not so impressed

lasttimeisaw After watched this film, I need to be alone (though I watched it alone) and clear my thoughts for a while, before I could write any words. Under a particular wartime surrounding, although flames of war has retreated as the backdrop, the predestinate individuals never get the chance to affranchise their innermost love, only leads a tragic story between a Japanese commander and a British slave. This might not be the greatest films ever made, but I cannot deny the emotional resonance it has impacted on me. Two superstars of the rock era at that time from west and orient respectively, David Bowie and Ryuichi Sakamoto's personal charisma works as the pillar of the film, their mutual feelings are constructed with an authentic and credible procedure, so that the whole film is way above just an unrequited love story.The background of Bowie's character with his relationship with his younger brother in their childhood is deftly portrayed too, which renders audiences another prospect which contrasts the Japanese prison camp setting. And his redemption to his brother was fulfilled eventually, the branch line is as appealing as the forbidden love.The titular Mr. Lawrence is the main witness of the whole incident, "mad on mass", is the deep-rooted bad habit of Japanese people which Mr. Lawrence yelled out loud in the film, director Nagisa was so valiant to make a film which explicitly exposes his own race's weakness, also to my surprise his disciple Takeshi Kitano delivers a vivid performance as a Japanese aidedecamp before his luxuriant career as the most famous Japanese director of our generation. FORBIDDEN COLOURS, the recurring theme song of the film composed by Ryuichi himself (I have the single version of the song which performed by David Sylvian with an additional lyric) is an everlasting melody one could ever forget once has watched the film. I will definitely re-watch the film, cannot help putting it on my guilty pleasure list and will explore other works from Nagisa Oshima, maybe his most notorious film THE REALM OF THE SENSES (1976), could someone tell me am I ready?

Blade_Le_Flambeur An enigmatic tone piece from internationally acclaimed Nagisa Oshima, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence is a left-of-center look at the moods of a WWII P.O.W. Camp. Comparisons to The Bridge on the River Kwai cannot be avoided (not that the producers strove to do such) but this film is a very different animal indeed.As posited by Jeremy Thomas in a supplemental interview, "What happens when a Japanese filmmaker makes a Japanese P.O.W. camp movie?" Something like this film in which the elegiac tone is oh so much more important than anything else. David Bowie's constant, downbeat independence vs. Tom Conti's fierce loyalty vs. Takeshi Kitano's upbeat clown pose... these are the most important elements of the piece. The humid tropics of Java help tell the story of a wound up prison camp in Indonesia during W.W.II. Cryptic Jack Celliers (Bowie) joins the titular Lawrence (Conti) and his crew of British soldiers under the auspices of the jocular Hara (Kitano) and Yonoi (pop star Ryuichi Sakamoto, pulling double duties as the composer). Their relationships form the backbone of the film as they all vie for control. Celliers and Yonoi's ambivalent relationship moves the film along while the Japanese-speaking and mannered Lawrence constantly bickers with Hara about equal treatment.The film has a definitive Western feel in the setting up of the story. It is based on a South Afrikaner's memoir and written by a British screenwriter. The back-and-forth dialogue, particularly during rigid two way conversations speak to this. But Oshima lets the music pulsate along and tracks along, showing how these men affected each other. By the conclusion the audience is so thoroughly engrossed in just the ambiance that they forget everything else. Unlike Oshima's more extreme In the Realm of the Senses, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence is a relatively easy act to follow. Although not as artistically rewarding, it is equally worth watching.