What a waste of my time!!!

That was an excellent one.

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

This Japanese-British co-production was a massive hit overseas but went largely unnoticed in the United States. A real shame for anyone who hasn't seen this marvelous war drama.The script is taut and intense maintaining a brooding atmosphere with few lighthearted moments such as actor David Bowie's consumption of flowers in defiance of t=his captors' orders to starve the prisoners or Bowie's monologue to himself during an early scene in the movie. The pacing is a bit tedious at times as it does slow down midway.Focusing on British POWs in a Japanese POW camp, particularly a rebellious British Major (David Bowie) who shakes up the camp's structure upon his arrival ; becoming a source of fascination of the Japanese officers. The titular Lawrence (Tom Conti) provides the film's moral support as he tries to keep his troops' morale up as they are routinely mistreated.While Tom Conti is excellent as the film's title character and is seen for the majority of the film, the screen really belongs to the ever wonderful David Bowie as Major Jack 'Strafer' Celliers. Bowie is reserved, commanding, outspoken and rebellious throughout the whole narrative. Celliers is the catalyst for the film's events as he spreads his rebellious nature around the camp and becomes a symbol of hope for his fellow soldiers while drawing ire from the Japanese officers. If you want an unconventional war film that is more character-driven, this film is one you must see.

Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence is the kind of movie that takes a while to "digest" and integrate. Having seen it 33 years after its release, I don't think it looks aged at all. On the contrary, it is as visually interesting and well directed as anything today. And the score is absolutely fantastic; really. Where it is treated differently than most recent efforts on this topic of Japanese Prisons during Wold War II is that it's less visually violent. It is morally violent, but not as gruesome as A.Jolie's or Eastwood's recent movies. It's absolutely not missing by the way and the characters are some of the most fleshed out, multi faceted and complex I have seen in a long time. It's not an "easy" movie but it is well worth the effort and a very rewarding watch.

This movie is war story. There are a lot of brutal scene. I could know war situation and Japanese army. In past, Japanese people used sword and gun. Now, Japan use only gun. But this time, they used two items. So we can watch Western culture and Japanese culture. Also, I'm surprised because Japanese people speak English fluently. We can know that Japan develop culture in this time. This movie notices that we don't know whether our decision is correct or not. This is a very difficult problem and everyone don't know this answer. Also, this film shows that why people fight against with enemy. So I think we must keep peace because we are same equal humankind.

An enigmatic tone piece from internationally acclaimed Nagisa Oshima, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence is a left-of-center look at the moods of a WWII P.O.W. Camp. Comparisons to The Bridge on the River Kwai cannot be avoided (not that the producers strove to do such) but this film is a very different animal indeed.As posited by Jeremy Thomas in a supplemental interview, "What happens when a Japanese filmmaker makes a Japanese P.O.W. camp movie?" Something like this film in which the elegiac tone is oh so much more important than anything else. David Bowie's constant, downbeat independence vs. Tom Conti's fierce loyalty vs. Takeshi Kitano's upbeat clown pose... these are the most important elements of the piece. The humid tropics of Java help tell the story of a wound up prison camp in Indonesia during W.W.II. Cryptic Jack Celliers (Bowie) joins the titular Lawrence (Conti) and his crew of British soldiers under the auspices of the jocular Hara (Kitano) and Yonoi (pop star Ryuichi Sakamoto, pulling double duties as the composer). Their relationships form the backbone of the film as they all vie for control. Celliers and Yonoi's ambivalent relationship moves the film along while the Japanese-speaking and mannered Lawrence constantly bickers with Hara about equal treatment.The film has a definitive Western feel in the setting up of the story. It is based on a South Afrikaner's memoir and written by a British screenwriter. The back-and-forth dialogue, particularly during rigid two way conversations speak to this. But Oshima lets the music pulsate along and tracks along, showing how these men affected each other. By the conclusion the audience is so thoroughly engrossed in just the ambiance that they forget everything else. Unlike Oshima's more extreme In the Realm of the Senses, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence is a relatively easy act to follow. Although not as artistically rewarding, it is equally worth watching.