Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

Set in a POW camp in Japanese-occupied Java circa 1942, the film explores the relationship between British prisoners and their captors. Lt. Col. John Lawrence (Tom Conti), the lone Japanese speaker among the interned British, tries to negotiate an uneasy equilibrium within the camp, which is overseen by the vicious Capt. Yanoi (Ryuichi Sakamoto). An ardent follower of the Bushido moral code, his eye is unexpectedly caught by the arrival Maj. Jack “Strafer” Celliers (David Bowie), an insolent and rabble-rousing new prisoner. Could Yanoi’s fascination with Celliers change everything? Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence has endured as a deeply moving anti-war statement, as well as a thoughtful exploration of national and sexual identity.