Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983)

Regisseur:

Nagisa Oshima

Drehbuchautoren:

Paul Mayersberg (writer)
Nagisa Oshima (screenplay)

Premierendatum:

2. September 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Kriegsfilm

Werbezeile:

Java, 1942 - A clash of cultures, a test of the human spirit.

Plot:

In 1942 British soldier Jack Celliers comes to a japanese prison camp. The camp is run by Yonoi, who has a firm belief in discipline...

Plot Keywords:

Lieutenant | Imperial Japan | Colonel | Indonesia | Sergeant

Filmpreise:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 8 wins & 6 nominations

Nutzerkommentare:

Two pop stars and a comedian turn out to be really good in war atrocity film

Besetzung

David Bowie	...	Maj. Jack 'Strafer' Celliers
Tom Conti	...	Col. John Lawrence
Ryuichi Sakamoto	...	Capt. Yonoi
Takeshi Kitano	...	Sgt. Gengo Hara (as Takeshi)
Jack Thompson	...	Group Capt. Hicksley
Johnny Okura	...	Kanemoto (as Johnny Ohkura)
Alistair Browning	...	De Jong
James Malcolm	...	Celliers' Brother
Chris Broun	...	Celliers aged 12
Yuya Uchida	...	Commandant of Military Prison
Ryunosuke Kaneda	...	President of the Court
Takashi Naitô	...	Lt. Iwata
Tamio Ishikura	...	Prosecutor
Rokko Toura	...	Interpreter
Kan Mikami	...	Lt. Ito

Alternativ:

Senjô no merî Kurisumasu (Japan)
Furyo - Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) [de]

Länge:

124 Min

Produktionsland:

UK | Japan

Sprache:

Englisch | Japanisch

Farbe:

Farbe (Eastmancolor)

Seitenverhältnis:

1.50 : 1

Tonverfahren:

Dolby

Altersfreigabe:

Portugal:M/16 | Iceland:16 | Italy:VM14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Drehorte:

Auckland, New Zealand

Firma:

Asahi National Broadcasting Company

Dies und das:

The actors playing POWs use their actual names in the hospital roll-call scene.

Pannen:

Faktische Fehler: In the final scene in the prison cell, the cross belt of Lt Col Lawrence's Sam Browne is fitted back to front.

Dialogzitate:

Group Capt. Hicksley: You know you don't have to obey this man, Lawrence.
Colonel Lawrence: Well, I'm the liaison officer, so I'm liaising.

Bezüge zu anderen Titeln:

Verweis/Anspielung/Erwähnung in Stupeur et tremblements (2003)

Two pop stars and a comedian turn out to be really good in war atrocity film

When this movie first came out, I remember the movie critics were very snippy about David Bowie's apparently "spaced out" performance. In actual fact he demonstrated an ability to genuinely dig deep into a complex emotional pit to produce an incredibly watchable performance. In addition, the casting of Bowie "against type" enables one to see more in Jack Cellier than the typical quiet British War Hero with a tragic past. Just by dint of his being played by Bowie adds a necessary varnish of mysteriousness and removes the possibility of clichéd playing.

Ryuichi Sakamoto similarly was able to completely subsume his pop-icon persona into a utterly convincing portrayal of an honourable but damaged Japanese army officer. In my view his is one of the greatest performances by a Japanese actor in an English language film. Scenes between Bowie and Sakamoto are rare, but well worth the wait.

Takeshi Kitano (famous Japanese comedian "Beat" Takeshi, more recently a renowned director) brilliantly performs as the typically brutal camp sergeant, and then successfully shows that even this character is not actually all bad: he has a sense of humour; he has a family who miss him.

Tom Conti gave one of his finest film performances as the utterly human liaison officer, the Mr Lawrence of the title. Jack Thompson does the bluff British officer (being Australian, perhaps he overdoes the "Now look heah!" accent a little) - and then, at the point of facing a summary execution, he gives out a harrowing, quavering cry, showing the complete collapse of his stiff upper lip.

It can be difficult to "get" exactly what this movie is about - Cellier and his hunchback brother? Lawrence trying to keep the peace until all his best efforts appear to result in his own death, and how he handles that? The relationship between Cellier and Yonoi? The point is that as a movie, it really doesn't matter. It's an actors' movie, and the best thing is just to watch the brilliant performances.