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Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)
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Reviews Counted:5
Fresh:2
Rotten:3
Average Rating:5/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 4 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Transferred from a military prison in Batavia, a British major is sentenced to a Japanese prison camp on Java in 1942. There, he clashes psychologically, culturally and physically with the camp's... Transferred from a military prison in Batavia, a British major is sentenced to a Japanese prison camp on Java in 1942. There, he clashes psychologically, culturally and physically with the camp's commander who is, in truth, infatuated with him. Despite the harshness of life in the camp, the major, along with fellow prisoner, John Lawrence, gain an understanding and hard-won respect for the Japanese code of honor. [More]
Starring: David Bowie, Tom Conti, Takeshi Kitano, Jack Thompson
Starring: David Bowie, Tom Conti, Takeshi Kitano, Jack Thompson, Ryuichi Sakamoto
Director: Nagisa Oshima
Director: Nagisa Oshima
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Reviews for Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
The Merry Christmas catalogue of atrocities finally becomes numbing, even ludicrous.
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.
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.
The context and frequent incontinence of the execution bring the film uncomfortably close to the pseudophilosophical bondage fantasies of Yukio Mishima.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
| 53% 53% | David & Layla |
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