Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence

Brilliantly acted, deeply moving wartime drama based on the semi-autobiographical novel 'The Seed and The Sower' by Laurens van der Post. Starring David Bowie, Tom Conte and Japanese actor Ruychi Sakamoto, it was one of the biggest cinematic hits in the UK in 1982. Batavia, 1942: in a Japanese PoW camp housing a battalion of British troops who surrendered after the fall of Singapore, young Deputy Camp Commander Captain Yonoi is finding it very difficult getting information on any weapons experts who might be among the prisoners. But they soon find themselves joined by Major Jack Celliers of the New Zealand Army, who has been captured after being shot down over Java carrying classified military documents. The tensions and hostilities in the camp between guards and inmates is startled into disruption by the arrival of this mysterious, enigmatic young man, who is haunted by memories of failing to protect his little brother at the brutal public school they both went to. A curious dynamic soon develops between Celliers and Capt. Yonoi; in time, the Major realises that he is in love with Yonoi, but the proud Japanese Deputy Commandant- bound by the Bushido Code and strict Oriental military tradition- cannot acknowledge to himself that in fact, he feels the same way too.... The ending of the film is pure tragedy, but at the same time leaves us to ponder upon some of the more poignant aspects of what it means to be human. The theme song 'Forbidden Colours', played by Sakamoto himself with David Sylvian on vocals, rose high in the charts and has since been adopted as an unofficial anthem for all those who served in the Far East during WW2. This film is typical of the haunting, dreamy avant-garde that dominated early '80s cinema, and if you haven't seen it yet, I really recommend that you do.