Review of Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983) by Jacob G — 18 Jul 2011

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.