treywillwest This great film by Oshima strikes me as a mirror reflection of his earlier work of avant-eroticism, In the Realm of the Senses. In both pieces, power and desire threaten, in different, competing ways, to usurp subjective humanity. The earlier movie took place just as the fascist Japanese war machine was fully consolidating itself. The self-effacing abandonment to libidinal joy is presented as the only way to escape a society that would crush the individual by controlling it. To completely abandon control of the self was the only way to escape control by the state. Unfortunately, both too much and too little power and control lead to death and/ or madness. In this later film, set predominantly during the war in Asia, power has already claimed subjectivity as its captive. Desire still reveals itself, but only through momentary cracks in power's control of the subject. Power must reassert itself all the more brutally after this lapse. Desire therefore results in the greatest suffering, albeit with none of the self-destructive liberation seen in Realm. The only real hope offered in Merry Christmas, however, still come from momentary lapses of power's control. This slight hope is not the result of desire, but of the intimacy that control accidentally engenders between captive and captor (both of whom are controlled).

TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews I have not read the novel, though I may very well do so. This is the first film by Ôshima that I watch, but I intend to try to find other of his works. I understand that this is the first he did in English, and it doesn't show or in any way detract from it. This does not feel like there was ever a communication problem between the crew on this. It's nice how they speak Japanese when that is appropriate, and those of us who do not understand that get subtitles. That is exactly how it should be, in my opinion. I had not seen Bowie act before, and I have to admit, he left me positively surprised. Every role is well-cast. This is engaging and interesting, and it's always nice to see such an excellent movie that deals with something so different to what we usually see in features. The cinematography and editing are expertly done. For being over 25 years old, this does not feel dated, and the subject remains relevant, and this continues to be a poignant viewing experience. There is disturbing and unsettling content in this, as well as some violence. I recommend this to anyone mature enough for it. 8/10

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.

Quick_Draw_Kiddo I had a really hard time looking past the raw 80's of Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. I have to be honest and say I found it a little boring, maybe I missed something, but the story seemed bland and slow. I know all films don't have to have a lot of action, but I didn't feel much of a conflict and nothing happened to make me care for any character. There's also the strange flashback that confused me more. I couldn't really figure out what the relevance of it was, that he's not saint? It just didn't seem to have anything to do with Bowie's character. Besides my indifference with the film I really thought David Bowie and the rest of the cast delivered great performances.