Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence 1983 / 戦場のメリークリスマス 1983 / Prisoner of War , Merry Christmas on the Battlefield , Furyo , Senjo no Meri Kurisumasu , Senjou no Merii Kurisumasu , せんじょうのメリークリスマス , 俘虜

The movie is set in the Second World War in a Japanese war camp, and explores the complex and ambiguous affinity between captors and prisoners. The two parties, already enemies because of the war, are driven apart because of many cultural differences: for example, their different concepts of honor and shame. The westerners find the Japanese inhumane and cruel, while the Japanese find the prisoners lazy and depraved. However, John Lawrence, a british officer, speaks fluently Japanese, and is the only character that manages to have a broader vision and serve as an intermediate between the Japanese and the western prisoners. Jack Celliers is a cool, willful soldier that resists to the Japanese pressure. Captain Yonoi is the camp commandant, who develops a secret and mysterious fascination for Jack Celliers. He is a conflicted character, driven by an unrelentingly strict sense of duty and the samurai code. Sergeant Hara is a character with whom John Lawrence develops a friendship of sorts beyond their cultural differences, although Hara occasionally shows himself shockingly brutal. (Source: XuongPhim) ~~ Adapted from the book ‟The Seed and the Sower‟ by Laurens van der Post. ~~ Co-production with U.K. and New Zealand.