Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)
Now here's a very special war movie that not only is just about people in a POW camp in Japan during WW2, prisoners and prison authorities alike, but on top of that presents all the characters as three-dimensional human beings with empathy and moral failings. David Bowie plays "Strafer" Jack Celliers, a New Zealand soldier condemned by a Japanese military tribunal to be sent to a prisoner of war camp. He has a lot of secrets and refuses to reveal his past to his captors. In the camp we meet the famous Mr. Lawrence himself, played wonderfully by Tom Conti (at some point I thought: 'the leap to freedom is not about strength') who is bilingual (English-Japanese) and who gets along with Sergeant Hara (Takeshi Kitano), a paradoxical figure, at times humane and yet at others rather harsh and unforgiving. Finally, there is Captain Yonoi, played by Ryuichi Sakamoto and who is very interested in Jack Celliers.
The music is fantastic in this, at times soothing and at other times sad and melancholic.
The film is about cultural exchanges and respect and empathy, not to mention homosexuality as well, as we see someone being forced to commit seppuku or hara-kiri for engaging in sexual activities with a prisoner. And yet, seppuku itself is not shown as some foreign barbarity viewed through the eyes of disgusted Westeners but rather as a part of Japanese culture, and in this context military culture at the time. The importance of seppuku to the Japanese officers is well-established as a means of preserving one's honour or atoning for sins or crimes within the movie and hence viewed with a respectful distance. The obstacle generally to this cultural understanding is represented here by Captain Hicksley (Jack Thompson), a captive English officer who shouts and boasts and generally refuses to see his captors as anything other than vile and evil, preferring a stereotypical black-and-white moral worldview when it comes to the Japanese, contrary to Mr. Lawrence who tries to be a diplomatic voice of reason as much as he can.
I could see this being David Bowie's best role on film for the simple reason that the character he plays is so multidimensional and intriguing to watch, which is partly the strength of the script but also the acting performance. Bowie goes from stern to rebellious to weary to melancholic as if it were nothing and all the other characters and actors get at least one moment to shine here as well. The ending is heartbreaking and yet also reassuring because it speaks to the humanity of all of the characters, as we understand that there is no right or wrong side in a worldwide conflict like this, only human beings reacting to pressures and social, political and cultural incentives.
8.5/10
Now here's a very special war movie that not only is just about people in a POW camp in Japan during WW2, prisoners and prison authorities alike, but on top of that presents all the characters as three-dimensional human beings with empathy and moral failings. David Bowie plays "Strafer" Jack Celliers, a New Zealand soldier condemned by a Japanese military tribunal to be sent to a prisoner of war camp. He has a lot of secrets and refuses to reveal his past to his captors. In the camp we meet the famous Mr. Lawrence himself, played wonderfully by Tom Conti (at some point I thought: 'the leap to freedom is not about strength') who is bilingual (English-Japanese) and who gets along with Sergeant Hara (Takeshi Kitano), a paradoxical figure, at times humane and yet at others rather harsh and unforgiving. Finally, there is Captain Yonoi, played by Ryuichi Sakamoto and who is very interested in Jack Celliers.
The music is fantastic in this, at times soothing and at other times sad and melancholic.
The film is about cultural exchanges and respect and empathy, not to mention homosexuality as well, as we see someone being forced to commit seppuku or hara-kiri for engaging in sexual activities with a prisoner. And yet, seppuku itself is not shown as some foreign barbarity viewed through the eyes of disgusted Westeners but rather as a part of Japanese culture, and in this context military culture at the time. The importance of seppuku to the Japanese officers is well-established as a means of preserving one's honour or atoning for sins or crimes within the movie and hence viewed with a respectful distance. The obstacle generally to this cultural understanding is represented here by Captain Hicksley (Jack Thompson), a captive English officer who shouts and boasts and generally refuses to see his captors as anything other than vile and evil, preferring a stereotypical black-and-white moral worldview when it comes to the Japanese, contrary to Mr. Lawrence who tries to be a diplomatic voice of reason as much as he can.
I could see this being David Bowie's best role on film for the simple reason that the character he plays is so multidimensional and intriguing to watch, which is partly the strength of the script but also the acting performance. Bowie goes from stern to rebellious to weary to melancholic as if it were nothing and all the other characters and actors get at least one moment to shine here as well. The ending is heartbreaking and yet also reassuring because it speaks to the humanity of all of the characters, as we understand that there is no right or wrong side in a worldwide conflict like this, only human beings reacting to pressures and social, political and cultural incentives.
8.5/10
/10
