“Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence,” December 30, 2022 (1983), DVD -Criterion. Based on novel The Seed and the Sower, by Laurens Van Der Post. Bronwen wanted to revisit this Nagisa Oshima (“The Realm of the Senses”) story of a Japanese POW camp in Java during WWII starring Tom Conti, David Bowie, Riuchi Sakamoto, and Takashi Kitano. Conti plays Lawrence, a Japanese-speaking South African officer imprisoned in a brutal camp run by Captain Yonai. (Sakamoto). Into this hell comes Jack Celliers, a British Major plagued by his own past. His refusal to conform and his goading of Yonai with emotional and physical closeness creates chaos for all. To the Japanese, Celliers is a demon sent to destroy Yonai. This is a powerful story, rife with ambiguity and pain. The features attached include interviews at Canne and with Paul Myersberg, who also worked on the screenplay. A powerful, well-acted story.