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Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

Posted on December 30, 2022January 14, 2023 by Village Vidiot

“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.

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