Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

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Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

R

1983

2h 4m

War

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

29 Reviews

79%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

During World War II, British soldier Jack Celliers (David Bowie) is captured by Japanese forces and held in a prison camp by the honor-bound Capt. Yanoi (Ryuichi Sakamoto). Yanoi and gruff Sgt. Hara (Takeshi) become intrigued with Celliers' open defiance in the face of their staunchly old-world ideas about cowardice and shame. Meanwhile, a translator, Lt. Col. John Lawrence (Tom Conti), attempts to find common ground between British and Japanese beliefs.

Critics Consensus

Worthy themes and strong performances across the board make Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence an impactful story about bridging cultural divides.

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Richard Corliss

TIME Magazine

The Merry Christmas catalogue of atrocities finally becomes numbing, even ludicrous.

Dec 10, 2008

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Aaron Hillis

Village Voice

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.

Oct 2, 2008

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Geoff Andrew

Time Out

For all the praise heaped upon Oshima's admittedly ambitious film about East-West relations in the microcosm of a Japanese PoW camp during World War II, it's far less satisfactory than most of his earlier work.

Jun 24, 2006

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

This World War II drama ignores battlefield skirmishes for culture clashes, and in doing so, it carves out its own niche as one of the most atypical POW films ever made.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 17, 2025

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Farah Cheded

A Good Movie To Watch

[A] psychosexual undercurrent bubbles furiously throughout Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, deepening its (already poignant) lamentations about war’s humanity-stripping effect and the self-imposed prisons that are honor and shame.

Sep 23, 2023

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

Acquires depth and emotional scope the more you dwell on it.

Rated: A

Aug 29, 2023

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CodyZamboni Z

Overall, I really didn't connect with this movie emotionally, Surprising given the subject matter, I did like the different direction it took half way through, with the abrupt flashbacks, And they made sense as movie went along, the singing was an act of strength, But it wasn't enough to make this movie noteworthy.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/28/25

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Alejandro E

World War II drama in an atypical tone, as it is not necessarily inspired by real events; Its greatest support is addressing issues such as the clash of cultures, guilt, shame and forgiveness. Those who like this genre will be grateful. Especially fans of the "rock chameleon" David Bowie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/23/24

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Narawit Max P

Very weird story telling with no clear direction (which I think is a plus as it keeps audiences excited). Good movie for Christmas that kind of give you something although you aren't really sure what it is.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/26/23

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Yogesh S

For a film that was released in 1983 (and ipso, shot in '81/'82), this is a startlingly beautiful film about war, ethics, morality and what it takes to be a soldier. It also exposes the brutal truth about war in the final poignant scene - that in most cases, neither of the adversaries is right in a war. The production quality is beautiful, the acting sublime, the setting authentic and the music score by the maestro Ryuichi Sakamoto is haunting. Don't miss this watch if you want your hear to get stirred by some thought provoking cinema!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/29/23

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Ev

Solid performances, the last scene has stuck with me for a couple of weeks, now. The themes and subtext worked enough to make it worthwhile. Ebert's review pointing out how the American and Japanese actors were acting like they were in different movies is apt and kind of keeps it from being a must see for me.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/05/23

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Peter H

A heartbreaking, clever and beautifully filmed story that will leave you wrung-out.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/02/23

Full Review

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Nagisa Ôshima

Director

David Bowie

Maj. Jack "Strafer" Celliers

Tom Conti

Col. John Lawrence

Ryuichi Sakamoto

Capt. Yonoi

Takeshi Kitano

Sgt. Gengo Hara

Jack Thompson

Group Capt. Hicksley

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Synopsis

During World War II, British soldier Jack Celliers (David Bowie) is captured by Japanese forces and held in a prison camp by the honor-bound Capt. Yanoi (Ryuichi Sakamoto). Yanoi and gruff Sgt. Hara (Takeshi) become intrigued with Celliers' open defiance in the face of their staunchly old-world ideas about cowardice and shame. Meanwhile, a translator, Lt. Col. John Lawrence (Tom Conti), attempts to find common ground between British and Japanese beliefs.

Director: Nagisa Ôshima
Producer: Jeremy Thomas
Production Co: Recorded Picture Company (RPC)
Rating: R
Genre: War
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Sep 28, 2010
Runtime: 2h 4m
Sound Mix: Surround