Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence (1983)

Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence (1983)

On Saturday March 2nd 2013 we are screening Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, Nagisa Oshima’s 1983 film about a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Indonesia after the fall of Singapore.  The film is based on a book by Sir Laurens van der Post and stars Tom Conti, David Bowie, Takeshi Kitano and the Japanese rock star Ryûichi Sakamoto. 

Our screening comes just a few months after the death of its distinguished director and the re-emergence of David Bowie as a rock musician.  I am thrilled to announce the film will be introduced by Tom Conti.
 

In this captivating, skewed World War II drama, David Bowie regally embodies Celliers, a British officer interned by the Japanese as a POW.  Rock star Ryuichi Sakamoto (who also composed this film’s hypnotic score) plays the camp commander, obsessed with the mysterious blond major, while Tom Conti is the British lieutenant colonel Lawrence, who tries to bridge the emotional and language divides between captor and prisoner.  Also featuring actor-director Takeshi Kitano in his first dramatic role, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence is a multilayered, brutal, at times erotic tale of culture clash, and one of Oshima’s greatest successes.

In one of the many reviews quoted on the International Movie Database, Henrik Sylow writes:

‘In many ways Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence is the thinking person’s Bridge on the River Kwai - not so much about the war but about the consequences of war. In the final segment of the film, Lawrence (Tom Conti) visits Hara (Takeshi Kitano) in his cell, where he awaits execution for war crimes. Hara, who has come to terms with his fate, asks Lawrence why he must die, as he only did what any other soldier did or would have done if in the same situation, to which Lawrence replies,

“You are a victims of men who believe they are right, just as you and Yonoi believed absolutely that you were right. And the truth is, of course, that no one is right.”
 

Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence is one of those rare films, whose perfection dwells in the symbiosis between story, director and actors. And it was recognized, to some degree when the film first came out, being nominated for the Palm d’Or and both Conti and Kitano were in consideration as best actors.  More and more over time Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence stands as one of Oshima’s greatest films and the greatest performances by the actors involved.  A haunting masterpiece.’

We meet at 7.30 for a drink and screen at 8pm. Please note this screening is on a Saturday.  Tom Conti will conduct the post film discussion and, as usual, we finish with tea, coffee and desserts.