Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
Java, 1942 — A clash of cultures, a test of the human spirit.
Island of Java, 1942, during World War II.British Major Jack Celliers arrives at a Japanese prison camp, run by the strict Captain Yonoi.Colonel John Lawrence, who has a profound knowledge of Japanese culture, and Sergeant Hara, brutal and simpleton, will witness the struggle of wills between two men from very different backgrounds who are tragically destined to clash.
- Director
- Nagisa Ōshima
- Signature
- Drama · Craft · Action
- Worldwide
- $2M
Who's in it
Cast
The billed ensemble, with character names. Open any performer for their Nutevio filmography.
The Nutevio profile
Movie DNA
How Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence actually feels to watch, measured on the twelve traits our editors track across every Nutevio title.
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Story overview
What It's About
Spoiler-free. Read the analysis below for the full argument.
Island of Java, 1942, during World War II. British Major Jack Celliers arrives at a Japanese prison camp, run by the strict Captain Yonoi. Colonel John Lawrence, who has a profound knowledge of Japanese culture, and Sergeant Hara, brutal and simpleton, will witness the struggle of wills between two men from very different backgrounds who are tragically destined to clash.
Where to watch
Streaming
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The numbers
Box Office & Release
- Budget
- —
- Opening weekend
- —
- Domestic gross
- —
- International gross
- —
- Worldwide gross
- $2M
- Release date
- May 28, 1983
- Runtime
- 2h 4m
- MPAA rating
- —
- Language
- English, Japanese
- Country
- United Kingdom, Japan
Figures from the verified production record. Fields we cannot source are left blank rather than estimated.
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