Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)

79% of critics liked it
(19 reviews)
81% of users liked it
(5,963 ratings)

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence was the first English-language project of Japanese director Nagisa Oshima (Death by Hanging, In the Realm of the Senses). In tune with his previous filmic essays on racism and brutality, Merry Christmas concentrates on a war of wills between rebellious POW David Bowie… More Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence was the first English-language project of Japanese director Nagisa Oshima (Death by Hanging, In the Realm of the Senses). In tune with his previous filmic essays on racism and brutality, Merry Christmas concentrates on a war of wills between rebellious POW David Bowie and camp commandant Ryuichi Sakomoto. Assuming that his other prisoners' unwillingness to protest their cruel treatment is a sign of weakness, Sakomoto is most impressed by Bowie's enigmatic defiance. While Bowie and Sakomoto seem to be operating on a high spiritual and intellectual plane, bilingual prisoner Tom Conti (the "Mr. Lawrence" of the title) engages in a more standard adversarial relationship with sadistic sergeant Takeshi Kitano. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 2 hr. 25 min.
Directed By: Nagisa Oshima
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Aug 26, 1983 Wide
On DVD: May 14, 2002
Studio: Image Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine
The Merry Christmas catalogue of atrocities finally becomes numbing, even ludicrous.
Aaron Hillis, Village Voice
From Oshima's later career... most notable is this bilingual, end-of-WWII tearjerker about forgiveness and understanding between cultures, which could have been dubbed The Man Who Fell to Java.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Here's a movie that is even stranger than it was intended to be.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
Mr. Oshima has staged the film in a spacious tropical setting and filled it with a great number of extras. Even so, Mr. Bowie always stands out from the crowd.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
The context and frequent incontinence of the execution bring the film uncomfortably close to the pseudophilosophical bondage fantasies of Yukio Mishima.
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
The film?s attention is split fairly evenly across the major characters, and their interactions are consistently fascinating in the way they illustrate both the cultural divide and the halting attempts to somehow bridge it.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
It's relentlessly grim, constantly off-balance, occasionally moving, and often striking.
Bill Weber, Slant Magazine
An exhaustive double-disc that suggests the unique circumstances of a production can make for a more compelling tale than the resulting film.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
David Bowie is outstanding as the defiant British prisoner whose erotic appeal undoes the Japanese commandant, played by Sakamoto, who was at the height of his fame as a musical icon in Japan
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
For all the praise heaped upon Oshima's admittedly ambitious film about East-West relations in the microcosm of a Japanese PoW camp during World War II, it's far less satisfactory than most of his earlier work.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Fine performances by Conti, Takeshi (brilliant in his first dramatic role), Sakamoto (a Japanese pop star in his film acting debut who also contributed the memorable score), and Bowie enhance this provocative film.

Read all 11 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Bob S

Not a great movie but one of the all time lump-in-the-throat endings (cue music and roll credits). Right up there with Frosty the Snowman and Camelot.
Randy T

Oddly scripted but intriguing. It's difficult to deny the presence of homoerotic undertones here, making this a most unconventional war film.
Stella D

weird film. i think bowie may have been miscast, tho he does as well as could be expected. tom conti is kind of annoying with his perfect preachy character. the synthy soundtrack is good but kind of dated. +3 for beat takeshi in his first dramatic role
AJ V

An interesting and very serious subject, but the characters spend most of their time sitting around talking, which gets really boring after a while. Plus, I'm not sure Bowie was the right person for the role, not that he can't act, I just think a more experienced dramatic… More
An interesting and very serious subject, but the characters spend most of their time sitting around talking, which gets really boring after a while. Plus, I'm not sure Bowie was the right person for the role, not that he can't act, I just think a more experienced dramatic actor would have been better. Overall, it's okay.
Anthony L

David Bowie, Tom Conti and Beat Takeshi put in three amazing performances in this very underrated POW classic! Brilliant! Beautiful soundtrack too!
Jani H

"Today, I am Father Christmas." It's hard to tell what this movie is all about? The differences between cultures? A story about a man finding peace with his past (Celliers and his brother)? I'm not sure either. I'd probably have to see it again but in my… More
"Today, I am Father Christmas." It's hard to tell what this movie is all about? The differences between cultures? A story about a man finding peace with his past (Celliers and his brother)? I'm not sure either. I'd probably have to see it again but in my opinion it was too boring, so I'll probably skip it. David Bowie kind of surprised me with his acting. He did a decent job but Takeshi Kitano, as Sgt Hara, steals the show. Don't expect a war movie or even a christmas movie. Confusing experience, that's about it.
xGary X

David Bowie is not the most remarkable of actors, but his haunting, charismatic performance in this WWII prisoner of war tale is easily his best. A highly memorable soundtrack too.
Walter M

It is 1942 in a Japanese prisoner or war camp in Java. Sergeant Hara(Takeshi Kitano) summons Colonel Lawrence(Tom Conti) to see Kanemoto(Johnny Ohkura), a Korean guard, commit seppuku for sodomizing De Jong(Alistair Browning), a Dutch prisoner, because according to Hara, you cannot… More
It is 1942 in a Japanese prisoner or war camp in Java. Sergeant Hara(Takeshi Kitano) summons Colonel Lawrence(Tom Conti) to see Kanemoto(Johnny Ohkura), a Korean guard, commit seppuku for sodomizing De Jong(Alistair Browning), a Dutch prisoner, because according to Hara, you cannot understand the Japanese until you have witnessed it. Luckily, Captain Yonoi(Ryuichi Sakamato) interrupts, saying the matter will have to wait until he gets back. The matter in question is a military trial in Batavia of Major Celliers(David Bowie) who Lawrence was acquainted with in Libya. Along the lines of the analysis given in the film "Fear and Trembling"(thanks for giving away the ending, by the way), I would have to say that the message of the very much flawed and unfocused film "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" is that under different circumstances the English and Japanese characters could have been friends which is possible I suppose. But sadly the movie does not stir the emotions well enough to be truly considered anti-war, like the far superior "Grand Illusion." In fact, I think "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" goes so far as to excuse the horrific behavior of Japanese soldiers by putting it down to sexual frustration. Although, come to think of it, that does fit in well with the homo-eroticism of the piece and might explain the miscasting of David Bowie who is too gorgeous to ever be confused with a hardcore soldier. It is especially weird when he says he wish he could sing in character after an irrelevant exploration of Celliers' past which just goes to prove how long bullying has been around for.
Chris B

If only our government could watch a film like this, it too could learn a lot.
Ed Fucking H

A mostly very well done prisoner of war movie taking place in Japan in WWII, that stars David Bowie of all people. I found the relationships between the prisoners and the guards to be very interesting, as well as the cultural differences that inevitably arise, and I have always found… More
A mostly very well done prisoner of war movie taking place in Japan in WWII, that stars David Bowie of all people. I found the relationships between the prisoners and the guards to be very interesting, as well as the cultural differences that inevitably arise, and I have always found Japanese ideas about death and honour to be facsinating. Half a star deducted for the totally unnecassary and out of place flash back sequences.
Alex F

Very good movie about cultural differences between the western and the japanese civilizations. It has some wonderfully beautiful and poethical scenes, specially at the end.

Read all 11 featured audience ratings

Cast

David Bowie
as Celliers
Tom Conti
as Col. John Lawrence
Ryuichi Sakamoto
as Yonoi

Jack Thompson
as Hicksley
Johnny Okura
as Kanemoto
Alistair Browning
as DeJong

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