Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)
Island of Java, 1942, during World War II. British Major Jack Celliers arrives at a Japanese prison camp, run by the strict Captain Yonoi. Colonel John Lawrence, who has a profound knowledge of Japanese culture, and Sergeant Hara, brutal and simpleton, will witness the struggle of wills between two men from very different backgrounds who are tragically destined to clash.
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SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?
Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??
A Disappointing Continuation
Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction
Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence is the kind of movie that takes a while to "digest" and integrate. Having seen it 33 years after its release, I don't think it looks aged at all. On the contrary, it is as visually interesting and well directed as anything today. And the score is absolutely fantastic; really. Where it is treated differently than most recent efforts on this topic of Japanese Prisons during Wold War II is that it's less visually violent. It is morally violent, but not as gruesome as A.Jolie's or Eastwood's recent movies. It's absolutely not missing by the way and the characters are some of the most fleshed out, multi faceted and complex I have seen in a long time. It's not an "easy" movie but it is well worth the effort and a very rewarding watch.
Disappointing.Had potential, but drifted and went nowhere, aided and abetted by some really hammy acting by David Bowie. As gritty and grim as the plot is, many of the scenes seem contrived and lame. If there was a point to everything, I missed it.As mentioned, David Bowie's performance certainly doesn't help matters. He is quite unconvincing in the lead role. The real actors hardly do better - Tom Conti and Jack Thompson are irritating. The Japanese actors put in the most convincing performances.Not worth watching, even at Christmas.
This movie is war story. There are a lot of brutal scene. I could know war situation and Japanese army. In past, Japanese people used sword and gun. Now, Japan use only gun. But this time, they used two items. So we can watch Western culture and Japanese culture. Also, I'm surprised because Japanese people speak English fluently. We can know that Japan develop culture in this time. This movie notices that we don't know whether our decision is correct or not. This is a very difficult problem and everyone don't know this answer. Also, this film shows that why people fight against with enemy. So I think we must keep peace because we are same equal humankind.
I'll just start out by saying that David bowie was a joke in his role. in a pow situation, he pantomimed shaving while having no evidence of any beard, and all the while wearing a kilo of product in his hair. his uniform, after months in the jungle only showed stone wash wear. bowie was a wooden joke who didn't want to ruin his bi-primped, rock and roll image, and i wish they had never cast him.and the main reason is: this film sports a majority Japanese production team; this along with an authentic story, gives us a real insight into the wwII Japanese psyche--something often ignored in the post-wwII Hollywood movies. the American public was after justification for the bomb, and retribution for their dead.and for the latter, this is an important film. it was made in 1983, and many jap vets were still living, and for a Japanese production team to coagulate such a homogeneous film is quite amazing.watch it and blow off bowie. he no longer holds the cultural sway he did back then. it will no longer be a rock and roll sacrilege.