VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Jackson Booth-Millard It was coming up to the festive season, so I wanted to watch a few seasonal films I had never seen before, I assumed, from the title, that this was a Christmas movie, it comes nowhere close, but it didn't stop me watching it, directed by Nagisa Ôshima (In the Realm of the Senses, Gohatto). Basically in 1942, during World War II, in Java, an island in Indonesia, British-New Zealand Major Jack "Straffer" Celliers (David Bowie) arrives in the Japanese POW (Prisoner of War) camp, he has surrendered to avoid the Japanese soldiers murdering local villagers. The camp commander Captain Yonoi (Ryuichi Sakamoto) is sort of fascinated by Jack, he sends him to the infirmary to be treated. Liaison of the prisoners is British officer Lieutenant Colonel John Lawrence (Tom Conti), he can speak Japanese, often convening with Yonoi and Sergeant Gengo Hara (Takeshi's Castle star Takeshi Kitano). Lawrence has lives with the Japanese for many years, so can understand their culture, it is questioned if Lawrence will one day replace ranking Allied officer and prisoner representative Group Captain Hicksley (Jack Thompson). When rebel Jack leaves the infirmary, he challenges Yonoi, who follows principles of honour and discipline, in Yonoi's view, the prisoners are cowards, choosing to surrender rather than commit suicide, he sees them as weak and dishonourable. As the interpreter, Lawrence tries to explain the Japanese way of thinking, but in doing so he is considered a traitor, but Lawrence see their cruel and bloodthirsty nature. The arrival of Celliers has had an effect on all of the camp, Yonoi believes that Jack is possessed by demons, later as a means of punishment Celliers is buried up to his neck in a pit filled with sand, he is left there to die. Four years later, Hara has learned to speak English, he reminisces with Lawrence about Celliers and Yonoi, he also mentions the amusement of a Christmas Eve, in the end, they bid each other farewell, with Hara saying "Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence!" Also starring Johnny Ohkura as Kanemoto, Alistair Browning as De Jong, James Malcolm as Celliers' Brother and Chris Broun as Celliers aged 12. The late great Bowie gives a terrific performance as the rebellious soldier, Conti does well as the bilingual prisoner forced to act as intermediary for both sides, and there is good support from Sakamoto, Kitano and Thompson. Admittedly I could not follow everything going on, and not just because of the occasional cuts into Japanese language with subtitles, for example there is the odd dream sequence with Bowie in a school uniform, but is does deliver messages about duty and culpability, and the characters are interesting, overall it is a worthwhile Second World War drama. It won the BAFTA for Best Score for Ryuichi Sakamoto. Good!

Claudio Carvalho In 1942, in Java, the British Major Jack 'Strafer' Celliers (David Bowie) arrives in the Japanese POW camp and is submitted to a Japanese court to examine his surrender. He explains that the Japanese soldiers would murder the local villagers and he decided to surrender to avoid the massacre. The camp commander Captain Yonoi (Ryûichi Sakamoto) feels a sort of fascination for Jack and sends him to the infirmary to be treated. The liaison of the prisoners with Yonoi and Sergeant Gengo Hara (Takeshi Kitano), Colonel John Lawrence (Tom Conti), has lived in Japan for many years and can understand both cultures and their leader is Captain Hicksley (Jack Thompson). When the rebel Jack leaves the infirmary, he challenges Yonoi, who is a man that follows the principles of honor and discipline. Yonoi believes that Jack is possessed by demons and their confrontation will lead the British to a tragic end. Yesterday my homage to David Bowie was watching again maybe for the fourth or fifth time one of his best films. "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" is certainly one of the best anti-war films ever made. The beginning with the music of Ryuichi Sakamoto indicates how classy it is. This film has not lost the impact along the years and it is impressive how the difference of Western and Japanese cultures is depicted through the British Jack 'Strafer' Celliers and the Japanese Yonoi. In between there is John Lawrence, a man who can understand both sides based on his life experience. Psychology explains that in areas involving control, such as dominance, people tend to pair up with their opposites. Therefore the sick discussion about homosexuality of Yonoi and Jack is ridiculous. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Furyo, Em Nome da Honra" ("Furyo, In Name of the Honor")

edumacated I'll just start out by saying that David bowie was a joke in his role. in a pow situation, he pantomimed shaving while having no evidence of any beard, and all the while wearing a kilo of product in his hair. his uniform, after months in the jungle only showed stone wash wear. bowie was a wooden joke who didn't want to ruin his bi-primped, rock and roll image, and i wish they had never cast him.and the main reason is: this film sports a majority Japanese production team; this along with an authentic story, gives us a real insight into the wwII Japanese psyche--something often ignored in the post-wwII Hollywood movies. the American public was after justification for the bomb, and retribution for their dead.and for the latter, this is an important film. it was made in 1983, and many jap vets were still living, and for a Japanese production team to coagulate such a homogeneous film is quite amazing.watch it and blow off bowie. he no longer holds the cultural sway he did back then. it will no longer be a rock and roll sacrilege.

thaddyxcore This is a very realist movie set in a Japenese prison camp. The acting in this movie definitely isn't the best that I've ever seen, but the violence and action was so realistic it almost seemed like a documentary on the events and it made you forget the horrible acting. This movie also makes a point found in a lot of westerns -- that everyone has their own view on any given situation and that any person could use their own set of values to see their actions as right or wrong in the context of their own morals. This is shown with the guards and the prisoners both believe that they are right. This movie is a great war film that leaves you with a definite shocked feeling after it's over.