Kieran Grant on MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. LAWRENCE | TIFF 2019

In the Realm of Oshima: The Best of Japanese Master Nagisa Oshima
11/16/19
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
(Senjo no Meri Kurisumasu)
Nagisa Oshima
UK, JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND | 1983 | Japanese, English
123 minutes
Set in a World War II POW camp in Java, Oshima's late-career triumph features two rock icons playing arch-nemeses: David Bowie as Celliers, an upper-crust New Zealand officer hiding a guilty family secret; and Ryuichi Sakamoto (who composed the film's hypnotically spare music track) as the fanatical camp commander Yonoi, whose Mishima-like obsession with hara-kiri is replaced by a growing fixation on his androgynous blonde prisoner. Mystified and intrigued by each other's code of honour, the two share tea and joust over cultural differences, until a series of incidents locks them in direct conflict. Circling around this central duo are the Lawrence of the title (Tom Conti), a cultured British POW who had lived in Japan for many years; and Sgt. Hara (Takeshi Kitano), a guard whose brutishness belies a curious kind of compassion. "One of the few Oshima works to wear its heart so clearly on its sleeve … no moment can rival the final episode of Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence for sheer melodramatic impact and merciless courting of audience tears" (Chuck Stephens).
Former music critic and TIFF Editor-in-Chief Kieran Grant reflects on the parallel cinematic paths of music superstars David Bowie and Ryuichi Sakamoto, and their momentous pairing in Nagisa Oshima’s gripping WWII drama.
Guest:
Kieran Grant
Kieran Grant joined TIFF in 2011 and currently oversees the organization's print and online output as Editor-in-Chief in its Brand & Media division. He was previously film editor for the Toronto alt-weekly Eye (R.I.P.), and wrote about music for the better (and worse) part of two decades. He is a founding member of pseudo-legendary, semi-dormant post-punk band The Two Koreas. He once had a telephone conversation with David Bowie.

[@matthewct8167]

This gave me a great insight of everything related to this film. Thank you!

[@ruffian1868]

I was always under the impression that Jack Celliers was of South African ancestry, not from New Zealand ?

[@defaultx238]

Yeah he's supposed to be south African, at least in the book he was