Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence

I believe that Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983) directed by Nagisa Oshima was one of the first Japanese films I ever saw on recommendation from Roger Ebert on "At The Movies." I recently read a book about Oshima and was in the process of creating a syllabus of Japanese films for a class I was planning to teach on Japanese film. I thought it was probably the most accessible, even though I am a fan of The Realm of the Senses and Empire of Passion, however, both have some explicit sexual scenes that I was wary of showing in film class. So I decided to screen Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, and even though I hadn't seen it in probably 20 years, I realized it has held up exceedingly well. I had forgotten about the homosexual subtext and the punishment of the Korean guard who had slept with a prisoner. It seems as though it was a precursor for Oshima's homosexual samurai film Taboo.  There are some very good performances from first timers like David Bowie, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Takeshi Kitano. However, it is Tom Conti that carries the film since it is mostly from his point of view. Sakamoto's score is unmistakably from the 80s, but appropriate and nostalgia inducing for me. Oshima is not afraid to show some of the unfavorable aspects of a Japanese prisoner of war camp warts and all, as well as seppuku. There are lots of great Criterion extras: The Oshima Gang, a 1983 making-of featurette, a new video interviews with producer Jeremy Thomas, screenwriter Paul Mayersberg, actor Tom Conti, and actor-composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, Hasten Slowly, an hour-long 1996 documentary about author Laurens van der Post, whose autobiographical novel was the basis for the film, the original theatrical trailer, new and improved English subtitle translation, and a booklet featuring an essay by film critic Chuck Stephens and reprinted interviews with director Nagisa Oshima and actor Takeshi Kitano. I was fascinated by the documentary on the author of the novel in which the film was based on a novel by Laurens van der Post and I plan to read this novel, The Seed and the Sower, soon. It was also interesting to hear that Kitano first thought about directing while working on the set of this, his first film, and Kitano would go on to become an internationally recognized director in his own right several years later. In addition, first assistant director Lee Tamahori would go onto make the critically praised film Once Were Warriors. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence is a classic film and has stood the test of time.