Well, ok. I first found out about this film quite a while ago when I was browsing through
the wonderful Criterion Collection website. I was just randomly scrolling through the
list of films and there, BA-BAYM was this:
I just completely fell in love at first sight of the dvd cover. I mean, well, look at that!
It's just oozing out with homoerotizim isnit it?? (lol)
(I thought "hmm.... these are soldiers so it's a war film and the man facing his back looks Japanese...
and why is that blonde man so close to him?! god this film looks interesting!")
But, it did take quite a while to watch this because..you know, it's a war film and
I don't really enjoy them because they are depressing.
BUT...I actually recently just found out that the main(?) character is David Bowie and
I was interested even more. And I really like Kitano Takeshi and oh my god I forgot the name
but the wonderful composer who was also in The Last Emperor.
And I mean, I'm Japanese. I should be watching this. (And I just found out that this is
a Japanese/UK/New Zealand film! haha I'm a Japanese who lived in New Zealand,
this is like perfect for me)
OK, enough with this random talk I shall get onto my review.
1) Basic information:
Name of film: Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence
Director: Nagisa Oshima
Release date: 1983
Length: 123 minutes
Type of film: Drama, War
2) Basic plot:
In 1942 British soldier Jack Celliers comes to a Japanese prison camp. The camp is run by Yonoi, who has a firm belief in discipline, honor and glory. In his view, the allied prisoners are cowards when they chose to surrender instead of committing suicide. One of the prisoners, interpreter John Lawrence, tries to explain the Japanese way of thinking, but is considered a traitor.(From IMDb)
3) Setting:
The film is set in a Japanese POW camp in Java, Indonesia in 1942 during World War 2.
4) Who was your favourite character and why?
That's a difficult one.... I actually liked all the characters. I liked Celliers (of course),
and I like Yonoi as well. But I also like Hara and Lawrence too. Hmm...
5) Who was your least favourite character and why?
No one. There wasn't anyone I didn't like. Which is kind of strange.
It's just that... people were so brutal and heart-less but it's not their fault.
6) Did you feel any connection/sympathy towards any of the characters?
Yes pretty much every character that appeared on the film. I felt sorry for every character.
I mean... there are 4 main characters and 3 of them has a bad ending....
7) What was your memorable/favourite scene and why?
I thought every scene was memorable but well, I would have to say the famous scene
that is shown on the cover art where Celliers kisses Yonoi on the cheeks.
That scene was just so powerful - ugh, and haunting.
(I just love endings where it is sad but the character(s) is still smiling.)
8) What was your most memorable/favourite quote and why?
"Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence!"
9) Did this film remind of of any other films and why?
No not really.. this film was unlike anything I have ever seen before.
I've never seen a war film that involved the Japanese army. It was great that I got to see that.
10) What do you think were the main themes/ideas of this film and why?
Humanity and the brutality of war and relationships... I think this film covered a lot of ideas.
Well, I'm just a stupid teenager who has pretty much never studied history before so I
have no idea about the details but it got me thinking about how in war, people just go..mad
and it's not because they are a mean person or anything, it's because of war.
"You're the victim of men who think they are right." It was so sad when Lawrence said this,
yes, Hara and Yonoi were brutal to the people, but they are also the victims.
(I guess everyone is a victim in war) I mean, if Hara, Yonoi, Lawrence and Celliers met in a different,
much peaceful world, you never know what they might have become.
(They would of been like best friends!... uh..makes me so sad.)
And with the "homo" factor, it was much more than I expected. Man...like.. when people
normally watch this, how can you not realise Yonoi's feelings towards Celliers??
I mean, when Yonoi first saw Jack at the..um....court? you could just see that he fell in love.
(and when he tells Jack to prove that he has been beaten...)
Well, I don't really know if it was supposed to be the directors intention but it says:
As Celliers in interned in the camp, Yonoi seems to develop a homoerotic fixation with him
on Wikipedia so I guess I'm not too wrong haha.
11) Did you enjoy the film?
Yes. Well, in the "enjoyment" factor it might of been pretty low because it was pretty noir
but I really loved this film. It was so tender (which is kind of weird with all the violence)
I'm not really sure if I would watch this film again though. Well.... I probably will lol.
Overall, this was a beautiful film with a ton of memorable scenes.
Man, look how happy he is.
I want to say that this was a weird experience having to hear Japanese words and then english haha.
My head was muddled up sometimes but I did better than I thought.
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