Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence **** (1983, David Bowie, Tom Conti, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Takeshi Kitano, Jack Thompson) – Classic Movie Review 3343

David Bowie gives a surprisingly persuasive performance as Major Jack ‘Strafer’ Celliers, a brave British prisoner-of-war in a Japanese camp, in 1942 in co-writer/ director Nagisa Oshima’s 1983 film Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, an unexpectedly successful screen version of Sir Laurens van der Post’s novel The Seed and the Sower (1963). It is based on his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during the Second World War, as also depicted in The Night of the New Moon (1970).

With the screenplay co-written by Paul Mayersberg, the weird material explores the relationship between captors and captives, and, though the film is not particularly easy to watch, it is strangely touching and rewarding.

Also impressive too are Tom Conti as Colonel John Lawrence, Takeshi Kitano as Sergeant Gengo Hara, Jack Thompson as Group Captain Hicksley and another rock star, Ryuichi Sakamoto, who plays Captain Yoni and also contributes the notable, hauntingly effective music score. Sakamoto also wrote the vocal theme ‘Forbidden Colours’, featuring David Sylvian.

Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence is shot by cinematographer Toichiro Narushima on the Cook Islands, which stand in for the Java location of the story.

The film was entered in competition for the Palme d’Or at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival. Sakamoto’s score won the film a BAFTA Award for Best Film Music.

Bowie said Oshima gave direction to his Japanese actors down to the the most minute detail but when directing him or Tom Conti, he would say ‘Please do whatever it is you people do.’ Bowie considered it was the most credible performance he had done so far in a film.

Oshima sought for the role of Jack Celliers after he saw him in a production of The Elephant Man on Broadway. He said Bowie had ‘an inner spirit that is indestructible’.

David Bowie, beloved icon of the culture, January 8 1947 – January 10 2016.

Ryuichi Sakamoto [Sakamoto Ryūichi], keyboardist for the pioneering Yellow Magic Orchestra and Oscar-winning composer of The Last Emperor, died at the age of 71 on March 28, 2023 after a battle with cancer.

Ryuichi Sakamoto’s greatest award success was for scoring the 1987 film The Last Emperor, which won him the Academy Award for Best Original Score, Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, and Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album. His score for The Sheltering Sky (1990) won him his second Golden Globe Award, and his score for Little Buddha (1993) received another Grammy Award nomination. His score for The Revenant (2015) was nominated for the Golden Globe and BAFTA.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3343

Link to Derek Winnert’s home page for more reviews: http://derekwinnert.com/