Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

"Furyo" redirects here. For the band, see Furyo (band).

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
Original Japanese poster
Directed by	Nagisa Oshima
Written by	Nagisa Oshima Paul Mayersberg
Story by	Laurens van der Post
Produced by	Jeremy Thomas
Starring	David Bowie Tom Conti Ryuichi Sakamoto Takeshi Kitano
Cinematography	Toichiro Narushima
Edited by	Tomoyo Oshima
Music by	Ryuichi Sakamoto
Distributed by	Universal Pictures (U.S.) Palace Pictures (UK)
Running time	123 minutes
Countries	Japan United Kingdom
Languages	Japanese English

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (Japanese: Senjō no Merī Kurisumasu (戦場のメリークリスマス), also known as Prisoner of War in many European editions) is a 1983 Japanese film directed by Nagisa Oshima, produced by Jeremy Thomas and starring David Bowie, Tom Conti, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Takeshi Kitano.

It was written by Oshima and Paul Mayersberg and based on Laurens van der Post's experiences during World War II as a prisoner of war as depicted in his works The Seed and the Sower (1963) and The Night of the New Moon (1970). Sakamoto also wrote the score and the vocal theme "Forbidden Colours," featuring David Sylvian, which was a hit single in many territories.

The film was entered into the 1983 Cannes Film Festival in competition for the Palme d'Or. Sakamoto's score also won the film a BAFTA Award for Best Film Music.

Plot

The film deals with the relationships among four men in a Japanese prisoner of war camp during the Second World War — Major Jack Celliers (Bowie), a rebellious prisoner with a guilty secret from his youth; Captain Yonoi (Sakamoto), the young camp commandant; Lieutenant Colonel John Lawrence (Conti), a British officer who has lived in Japan and speaks Japanese fluently; and Sergeant Hara (Kitano) who is seemingly brutal and yet humane in some ways and with whom Lawrence develops a peculiar friendship.

Like Celliers, Yonoi, too, is tormented by guilt. Having been posted to Manchuria previously, he was unable to be in Tokyo with his Army comrades, the "Shining Young Officers" of Japan's February 26 Incident, a 1936 military coup d'état. When the coup fails, the young army officers are executed. Yonoi regrets not being able to share their patriotic sacrifice. Jack Celliers had betrayed his younger brother while the two of them were attending boarding school. Although Celliers confesses this only to Lawrence, Captain Yonoi senses in Celliers a kindred spirit. He wants to replace the British camp commandant Group Captain Hicksley with Celliers as spokesman for the prisoners.

The taboo of homosexuality, especially harsh in an otherwise ultranationalist and traditional environment, is suggested throughout the film. A Korean soldier is condemned to commit seppuku after being caught in an "improper" relationship with one of the Dutch prisoners. As the execution is carried out, the Dutch prisoner, who is forced to watch it along with the rest of the prisoners and the Japanese officials as well, bites his tongue and then dies of suffocation himself. Captain Yonoi is enraged when he sees the prisoners behaving in what he sees as a cowardly way for not wanting to witness the death.

As Celliers is interned in the camp, Yonoi seems to develop a homoerotic fixation with him, often asking Hara about him, silently visiting him in the small hours when Celliers is confined. However, later on, Yonoi becomes enraged by Celliers' behaviour and has him and Lawrence thrown into the punishment cells under the charge of possessing a wireless. Celliers, who is known by the nickname of "Strafer" Jack (a strafer is a "soldier's soldier"), instigates a small number of rebellious actions, one of which is supplying the men with food after their rations have been suspended for two days for their actions during the seppuku, which Yonoi deems as "spiritually lazy."

Yonoi's batman suspects the mental hold that Celliers has on Yonoi so he tries to kill Celliers but fails in the attempt. Celliers manages to escape his cell and rescues Lawrence, only to be thwarted by Yonoi unexpectedly. Yonoi challenges Celliers to single combat saying "If you defeat me, you will be free" but Celliers refuses. Yonoi's batman then commits seppuku in atonement after urging Yonoi to kill Celliers before Celliers can destroy Yonoi.

It is Christmas Eve and Sgt Hara is drinking heavily and orders both Celliers and Lawrence to be brought to him. Hara then advises them that he is playing "Santa Claus" and is ordering their release because a prisoner confesses having the radio. He then calls out in English for the first time "Merry Christmas Lawrence."

Sgt Hara is later reprimanded by Yonoi for exceeding his authority. The whole camp is paraded on Yonoi's order. All prisoners are prompted to form lines outside the barracks, including sick and moribund ones. The climax of the film is reached when Yonoi is ready to kill the POW's commander for not having all the men present for parade. Celliers breaks the rank and walks decidedly in Yonoi's direction, between him and the man about to be executed and ends up resolutely kissing him in the cheek with a straight face. This is an unbearable offence to Yonoi's bushido honor code; he reaches out for his katana against Celliers, only to collapse under the conflicting feelings of vindicating himself from the offence suffered in front of his troops and his own feelings for Celliers. Celliers is then attacked and beaten up by the Japanese soldiers.

Captain Yonoi himself is then redeployed and his successor who declares that "he is not as sentimental as Captain Yonoi" immediately has Celliers buried in the ground up to his neck as a means of punishment and then left to die. Captain Yonoi goes to Celliers when there is no one around and cuts a lock of hair. He then pays his respects and leaves, and Celliers dies shortly afterwards.

Four years later, Lawrence visits Sergeant Hara, who has now been imprisoned by the Allied forces. Hara has learned to speak English whilst in captivity. He also reveals that he is going to be executed the next day for war crimes. Lawrence tells him that Yonoi had given him a lock of Celliers hair and told him to take it to his village in Japan and dedicate it in a shrine. Hara reminisces about Celliers and Yonoi. We find out that Yonoi himself was killed just before the war ended. Hara recalls that Christmas Eve and both are very much amused. The two bid each other farewell for the last time. Just before Lawrence leaves, Hara calls out again, "Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence."

Cast

• David Bowie - Maj. Jack 'Strafer' Celliers
• Tom Conti - Col. John Lawrence
• Ryuichi Sakamoto - Capt. Yonoi
• Takeshi Kitano - Sgt. Gengo Hara
• Jack Thompson - Group Capt. Hicksley
• Johnny Okura - Kanemoto
• Alistair Browning - De Jong
• James Malcolm - Celliers' brother
• Chris Broun - Celliers aged 12
• Yuya Uchida - Commandant of military prison
• Ryunosuke Kaneda - President of the Court
• Takashi Naitô - Lt. Iwata
• Tamio Ishikura - Prosecutor
• Rokko Toura - Interpreter
• Kan Mikami - Lt. Ito

Production

David Bowie was hired for the role of Jack Celliers after director Nagisa Oshima saw him in a production of The Elephant Man on Broadway. He commented that Bowie had "an inner spirit that is indestructible." While shooting the movie, Bowie was amazed that Oshima had a two- to three-acre camp built on the remote Polynesian island of Rarotonga, but most of the camp was never shot on film. He said Oshima "only shot little bits at the corners. I kind of thought it was a waste, but when I saw the movie, it was just so potent - you could feel the camp there, quite definitely." Bowie noted how Oshima would give an incredible amount of direction to his Japanese actors ("down to the minutest detail"), but when directing him or fellow Westerner Tom Conti, he would say "Please do whatever it is you people do." Bowie thought his performance in the movie was "the most credible performance" he'd done in a film up to that point in his career.

Contrary to usual cinematic practice, Oshima shot the film without rushes and shipped the film off the island with no safety prints. "It was all going out of the camera and down to the post office and being wrapped up in brown paper and sent off to Japan," Bowie stated. Oshima's editor in Japan cut the movie into a rough print within four days of Oshima returning to Japan.

Soundtrack

Untitled

All compositions are by Ryuichi Sakamoto except "23rd Psalm," which is traditional. Lyrics are written and sung by David Sylvian on "Forbidden Colours". Sakamoto won the 1983 BAFTA Award for Best Film Music for the film's soundtrack.

Track listing:

1. "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence"
2. "Batavia"
3. "Germination"
4. "A Hearty Breakfast"
5. "Before the War"
6. "The Seed and the Sower"
7. "A Brief Encounter"
8. "Ride, Ride, Ride (Celliers' Brother's Song)"
9. "The Fight"
10. "Father Christmas"
11. "Dismissed"
12. "Assembly"
13. "Beyond Reason"
14. "Sowing the Seed"
15. "23rd Psalm"
16. "Last Regrets"
17. "Ride, Ride, Ride (Reprise)"
18. "The Seed"
19. "Forbidden Colours"

Covers

There is a 12" vinyl Italo disco cover version on the Italian record label Discomagic named "Clock On 5 - Theme From Furyo" which was released in 1984. In 2000, a re-mix of Ryuichi Sakamoto's Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence called "Heart of Asia" was released in Europe by dance group Watergate, and it reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2004, Croatian pianist Maksim Mrvica included a piano remix of "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" on his third album, Variations Part I&II.

In 2008, a cover version of "Forbidden Colours" is included on Hollywood Mon Amour, a collection of songs made famous by their inclusion on soundtracks of movies made in the 1980s, rearranged by Marc Collin of Nouvelle Vague with Nadeah Miranda providing the vocals. Also in 2008, UK Hardcore producer Orbit1 remixed this song and called it Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence. It came out on the Hardcore Nation 2009. In 2009, British teen singer Faryl Smith recorded a version of the song for her album Wonderland, entitled "Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (Somewhere Far Away)".

Part of the song is also used in the theme song to the video game International Karate, written by Rob Hubbard. Japanese post-hardcore band Fact recorded a track by the title Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence on their self-titled album. Tokyo Brass Style, a Japanese Big Band recorded a cover of the title theme for their fifth album, 'Brass Style Xmas'

Reception

The film has a 79% Critic Rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 82% Audience Rating.

New York Times critic Janet Maslin wrote a favorable review, saying that David Bowie 'plays a born leader in Nagisa Oshima's Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, and he plays him like a born film star. Mr. Bowie's screen presence here is mercurial and arresting, and he seems to arrive at this effortlessly, though he manages to do something slyly different in every scene. The demands of his role may sometimes be improbable and elaborate, but Mr. Bowie fills them in a remarkably plain and direct way. Little else in the film is so unaffected or clear.' On the film's Japanese actors, she writes that "the two main Japanese characters who have brought him to this understanding are Sergeant Hara (Takeshi), a brutal figure who taunts Lawrence while also admiring him, and Captain Yonoi (Ryuichi Sakamoto), the handsome young camp commander, who has a fierce belief in the samurai code. Both of these actors perform at an obvious disadvantage, since their English is awkward and the motives of their characters are imperfectly revealed. However, they are able to convey the complex affinity that exists between captors and prisoners, a point that is made most touchingly in a brief postwar coda."

External links

• Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence at IMDb
• Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence at the Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese)
• Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence at AllMovie