Few films have attempted to capture the magic of Christmas in a way as unique as Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence. Starring world-renowned musicians Ryūichi Sakamoto and David Bowie, the film is set in a Japanese occupied Java during World War II, in a prisoner’s camp. In other words, an unlikely pair of characters in an unlikely place to find the spirit of Christmas. However, the Bafta winning film crafted a story that, despite the sadness present, embodies the comradery of the holiday season.
Based on the novel The Seed and The Sower by Laurens van der Post, the film is a Japanese/British co-production. This is to say that its existence itself is a testament to the filmmakers’ desires to bridge cultural divides. They took a moment from their nation’s shared history that intertwined with the holiday season and made a gorgeous film out of it.
From the script to the cinematography, the movie is telling of artists that came together to tell a moving story. Artists with vastly different backgrounds and expertise that, nonetheless, believed in the power of the film’s message. In short, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence is a holiday film like no other. It’s among those few enduring films that can be watched countless times and still teach you something new. Now, in the spirit of the Christmas season, let us dive into the magic of this extraordinary film.
Background
Before we begin discussing the film, some of its historical context might be useful to know moving forward. Merry Chritsmas Mr. Lawrence takes place in the aftermath of the Battle of Java, a battle fought between the Allied Forces and the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. After almost twenty days of combat, the Japanese ended up winning the battle. Subsequently, Java, alongside other Dutch East Indies islands (current day Indonesia), ended up being occupied by the Japanese. This occupation lasted from March 1942 to September 1945, after the Empire of Japan unconditionally surrendered.
During the occupation, the Japanese were bound to the Geneva Convention of 1929, which concerned prisoners of war. As such, the Allied soldiers (in this case: British, Dutch, American and Australian) were to be taken care of in prisoner camps. And it is precisely in one of these camps where the story of Merry Chritsmas Mr. Lawrence takes place.
The plot
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence starts by introducing two characters: Sergeant Hara and John Lawrence. Hara, played by acclaimed director Takeshi Kitano, is the one in charge of the prisoner’s camp; Lawrence, played by Tom Conti, is a British prisoner who has become friends with Hara, due to the fact he speaks fluent Japanese. The two of them begin by discussing an execution that will happen later in the film. The crime in question? A guard was caught having intimate relationships with a white prisoner.
We are then introduced to Jack Celliers (David Bowie) and Captain Yonoi (Ryūichi Sakamoto). Celliers is being sentenced to death for leading an indigenous guerrilla, but he states that he is a British soldier and should be treated as such. Yonoi, who finds Celliers attractive, vows for his story, ensuring Celliers is sent to the prisoner’s camp. Celliers’ abrasive and charismatic attitude makes Yonoi consider him as the new prisoner’s spokesman, potentially replacing the tempered captain Hicksley.
Once Celliers has adapted to life in camp, we see the previously mentioned execution take place. When the guard is dead, the white prisoner he had relationships with kills himself, showing his love for him. Yonoi wants to hide the incident, as it’s heavily implied he was moved by it; Hicksley, on the other hand, thinks it’s disgusting. Their opposing views on the matter start aggravating tensions within the camp.
Things escalate when a radio is found in the prisoners’ bedrooms and Celliers is caught sneaking some food. Yonoi thinks someone must be punished to maintain order and decides to sentence Lawrence to death. Afterwards, we briefly see Lawrence and Celliers share their life stories while they wait to be punished. However, because it’s Christmas Eve, a drunk Hara stopped the execution by claiming that another prisoner confessed to the radio incident.
Eventually, things between Yonoi and Hicksley reach the boiling point, leading Yonoi to make an ultimatum on him. In the process of this, a sick prisoner ends up dead, and Yonoi is ready to cut Hickley’s head off. But just when he was about to deliver the final blow, Celliers came forth and kissed him on both cheeks. He then stops the execution. Afterwards, Yonoi is replaced as the captain of the camp and, under new rule, Celliers is punished: he is buried in sand up to his neck, left to die.
The film concludes by sending us four years into the future, back with the characters we met at the beginning. Sergeant Hara, now a prisoner of the allies, is about to be executed for his crimes during the war. Mr. Lawrence, who still considers him a friend, wants to talk to him one last time. The two of them start discussing the war, the hypocrisy of both sides, and even their own inadequacies as people. Finally, they remember their life on the camp, Cellier, Yonoi, and that Christmas Eve they lived together. “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” ends up being Hara’s final words, and the last we hear before the credits roll.
A Japanese Story
Screenwriter and director Nagasi Oshima wanted this story to not only feature Japanese characters, but also be a Japanese story. Case in point is the character of Yonoi, whose arc is about confronting the ideal Japanese masculinity he thinks he needs to live up to. Throughout the film, we see his mind and body set on these ideals, as he values discipline and even practices sword-fighting. However, because he also finds Celliers attractive, there is a sense he is never allowed to be his true self. This is best shown by the people under his command, who think Cellier is a demon corrupting him. In one of the most telling scenes, one of Yonoi’s soldiers attempts to assassinate Celliers precisely for this reason.
Adding to this is the character of Hara, who, despite being a straight man, seems to be comfortable around homosexuality. In his own words, there is nothing to fear in it, as even samurai back in the Edo periods practiced it. Hara, with his own idea of what a Japanese man is, has found comfort, which has allowed him to occasionally be the voice of reason. Yonoi, on the other hand, commits some of his biggest crimes because of his insecurities as one.
Another quite telling moment comes up when Lawrence and Cellier discuss their lives while waiting to be punished. Here, Lawrence states the following: “they are a nation of anxious people that went mad on mass”. With any other director and writer, this would feel inappropriate, but with Oshima and the context he provides, it reads as a powerful cultural critique: we Japanese men, who never dare to question what made us anxious, threw ourselves into situations we never understood.
A British Story
Oshima wasn’t the only writer who worked upon the original novel, as there was also British writer Paul Mayersberg. With his contribution to the script, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence manages to dive into some themes that are uniquely British.
The best example of this comes with the character of Jack Celliers. Back when he was awaiting punishment for sneaking food, he told a story to Mr. Lawrence. In it, Celliers spoke about his little brothers, a blonde kid who had a hunchback and loved singing. Despite loving his brother, Celliers confesses that he was always embarrassed to be associated with him. This reached its logical conclusion when the brother entered boarding school and was forced to do the initiation ritual. First, the older kids bullied him into singing, and after he sang, they made him dive into stagnant water. While all of this occurred, he screamed for his brother’s help, but Celliers stood hidden behind a wall. Afterwards, the little kid never sang again. Finally, Celliers states that the shame this brought to him was what made him enlist in the British army.
Perhaps the most revealing aspect of this story is its conclusion, where Celliers confessed that enlisting felt like a relief. The abrasive British soldier we met throughout the movie suddenly revealed why he acted that way: he fears going back. Fighting for England was a way to stay away from it, where he doesn’t have to face the people he wronged. As a commentary on British society, it is about using identity as a shield. As long as he is the Queen’s most loyal servant, he doesn’t have to be the brother he needed to be.
A Queer Story
One of Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence’s main themes is identity and how we present it. As such, a discussion of queerness is important, as it’s an aspect of identity that isn’t immediately visible. At first, we think we can easily identify every character by their ethnicity and their uniforms; but the film challenges us by making us consider what lies behind them.
Adding to what was said in the previous paragraph, the movie never shows any explicitly gay scenes; however, this, rather surprisingly, ends up being one of its strengths as a queer narrative. The characters themselves, Yonoi here being a particular standout, don’t really know what they’re feeling and how to process it. They are, as some critics have pointed out, scared and in love. They don’t truly seek physical gratification, instead, they want their love to be, in some way, acknowledged. Take, for example, the scene where Celliers stopped Hicksley’s execution by kissing Yonoi on both cheeks. There isn’t anything inherently romantic about kissing someone’s cheeks, but, for Yonoi, it was a sign that Celliers knew how he felt. And the key lies here, as the realization alone was enough for him to stop what he was doing.
Music and cinematography
The reason Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence won a Bafta award back in 1984, was because of its soundtrack. Entirely composed by Ryūichi Sakamoto, the soundtrack mixes elements of ambient music with a modern-classical style, creating a unique yet familiar feeling. The title track is a notable standout, as it has become one of the most famous Ryūichi Sakamoto songs of all time. Because of this, there exist multiple renditions of the songs, like a piano solo or the collaboration with bassist Jaques Morelenbaum and violinist Everton Nelson. However, as fantastic as those versions are, the original one is still special. Unlike its later iterations, this version has few things that make it more atmospheric, like the stark percussion and some electronic elements. Overall, the version doesn’t matter as much, as the song is simply fantastic.
Of course, the title track isn’t the only notable song on the soundtrack. It’s clear Sakamoto wanted to create a unique feel for every scene, with songs that made that vivid reality. The track The Seed and The Sower, for example, plays on a moment when Celliers refuses to fight Yonoi. Its tense and eerie introduction sets up the conflict, and its eventual cathartic resolutions almost feel like the psychological victory Celliers scored over his jailer. Similar things could be said about the rest of the songs, as all of them possessed purpose and depth.
To conclude with the technical aspects of the film, we must mention its gorgeous cinematography. Award-winning cinematographer Toichiro Narushima let his vision be felt in the film, as its constant barrage of eye-pleasing shots. It’s clear he has a great understanding of photographic symmetry, which he utilizes to tell a story with every frame. It’s beautiful, effective for this story, and a masterful display of talent.
A Christmas Story
Finally, to finish off this review, let us revisit why Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence is, in essence, a Christmas Story. For starters, the movie is set around the holiday season, so we’re made aware that Christmas is eventually coming. We occasionally see characters jokingly mention it, as the celebration seems to be the most antithetical thing to their situation. As tension continues to increase with the film’s runtime, the setting blends into the narrative. We eventually forget the film had Christmas in its title as we await for the executions of our main characters. However, just when the moments seem the direst, Christmas Eve arrives to save the day.
Unlike a conventional Christmas film, the movie doesn’t end with this “Christmas miracle.” Rather, the filmmakers want us to consider that the Christmas spirit, though ever-present, is also a fleeting phenomenon. This, as we learn at the end, is not a bad thing; if anything, the way it comes and goes is what makes it special. We, like Hara and Lawrence at the end, could treasure these memories and make them a part of our lives. For as long as we keep living, whether there is another Christmas ahead of us, we can look back at the one behind it with fondness. The beauty of Christmas, the film says, lies in its ability to evoke a sense of wonder and appreciation for the present moment.
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