The Best Movie I Have Watched Recently
Every weekend, I browse Netflix to find some good movies for entertainment. It’s my weekly routine to relax on weekends. Though I watch tons of movies, I only appreciate and like a few of them. As a movie lover, I have stringent standards for films. For instance, I care a lot about soundtracks in movies. Fortunately, last weekend, I found the movie I am fond of, which is” Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence”. Before I begin to discuss the movie, just in case some people may haven’t watched it yet, SPOILER ALERT!
To briefly introduce you to the plot of the film, it took place in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Java, Indonesia, during World War II. The protagonist is Jack "Strafer" Celliers, an English major captured by the Japanese army, who was saved from his death penalty by Captain Yonoi, the governor of the Japanese POW camp, who has unspeakable and forbidden love for Celliers. Although the theme of the movie may seem like warfare at first glance, it’s mainly based on the cultural conflicts between Japan and the west, anti-war, and homosexuality. For example, how the characters react to the act of seppuku(cutting belly) and the Japanese traditional religion.
To conclude, the movie has a good soundtrack, a famous cast, and a unique way to illustrate. You got to watch this film. It's a movie worth you to watch. I can guarantee that you won’t regret it!
Merry christmas, mr. Lawrence. Nothing is Written. (n.d.). https://nothingiswrittenfilm.blogspot.com/2014/01/merry-christmas-mr-lawrence.html
Watch David Bowie resist Japan in 'merry christmas, mr. Lawrence'. War Is Boring. (2016, January 14). https://warisboring.com/watch-david-bowie-resist-japan-in-merry-christmas-mr-lawrence/
Merry christmas mr. Lawrence. The Criterion Collection. (1970, January 1). https://www.criterion.com/films/27512-merry-christmas-mr-lawrence
Alright, let me express why I love this movie so much. First of all, I’m a big fan of the cast, David Bowie as Jack “Strafer” Celliers. Fonding of a movie for an actor I liked is kinda breaking my principles. To my surprise, I knew David Bowie was a legendary singer, however, I never knew he was also a talented actor. Second of all, the movie soundtrack by Ryuichi Sakamoto, also the actor of Captain Yonoi, is such a masterpiece. It fits the ambiance of the tropical jungle in Java and the emotional moments in the movie. Calming yet intense. Last but most important, the way the movie portrays the topics I mentioned earlier is intriguing. For instance, the love towards Celliers in Captain Yonoi is so indistinct. If a careless person watches this film for the first time, he or she may not even notice the crush. The audience needs to pay attention to how Captain Yonoi shows solicitude for Celliers obliquely. I didn’t mean the director and the screenwriter did a bad job of depicting the plot. Instead, I think this way of illustration is brilliant and suitable for the movie. I mean the characters in movies are respected military officers, they can’t show their love passionately, not to mention that it was homosexuality in the 1940s.
