Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

MONTHLY CLASSICS

Friday, January 13, 7 PM

This international co-production from director Nagisa Oshima features a magnetic David Bowie in one of his greatest screen roles as a rebellious British officer imprisoned in a Japanese POW camp during World War II who draws the intense fascination of the camp’s conflicted commandant, played by composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. Divided by language and incongruous understandings of duty and honor, the fraught relationship between prisoners and captors slowly builds towards tragedy. Also featuring a breakout performance by Takeshi Kitano in his first dramatic role, Oshima’s film is an entrancing, brutal examination of the absurdities of war punctuated by moments of tenderness and poetry.

Screening in memory of David Bowie (January 8, 1947-January 10, 2016) and Nagisa Oshima (March 31, 1932-January 15, 2013).

1983, 123 min., 35mm, color, in English and Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Nagisa Oshima. With David Bowie, Tom Conti, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Takeshi Kitano, Jack Thompson.

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence © 1983 Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Tickets: $13/$10 seniors & students/$5 Japan Society members

Part of Monthly Classics
Year-round screenings of beloved classics, hidden gems and recent discoveries of Japanese cinema. Only $5 for Japan society members!

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