Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

Name: Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
Director: Nagisa Oshima
Released: 1983

Nagisa Oshima

war crimes world war ii pacific war prison camp meditative

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Synopsis

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.

Cinema Atlas Connection

I thought a lot about Nagisa Oshima’s Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, about the way in which desire and sexual ambiguity and power relations were depicted in that film. And I thought that was a great way to put desire at the core of the movie.

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This Film Influenced

→ Call Me By Your Name (2017)