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A few days ago, I saw “Merry Christmas, Mr.Lawrence”
after many years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merry_Christmas,_Mr._Lawrence
(Click to know the story of this film, cast, and staffs)

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=YwkuS9FlB7M
(Click and listen the wondeful music of this
movie)

“Merry Christmas, Mr.Lawrence”is a movie directed
by OSHIMA Nagisa, the Japanese film director who is
generally regarded as leftist in Japan.

The movie, which was shown first in 1983, is a
story of the British, Australian, NewZealander,
and Dutch POWs and Japanese soldiers in Java during
the W.W.Ⅱ. ---The movie is based on a novel by a
South-African novelist Sir Van der Post.

I have seen this movie many times since 1983,
when the movie was first shown in the world,
but it was indeed after many years that I saw
this movie by DVD. Seeing this movie again by DVD,
I was reminded of a certain remark Oshima made in
a press conference when he was to start making
of this film. He remarked that he wants to make
a movie like Jean Renoir's masterpiece “The Grand
Illusion(La Grande Illusion)”.

“The Grand Illusion(La Grande Illusion)”(1937),
which Oshima mentioned in the press conference,
is a story of French POWs in a German camp during
the W.W.I, in which two French POWs, who escaped
from the German camp, converse about the war.---
One of the two wonders whether the war would be the
final war in history and the ather answers it's
his iluusion.---The title reflects this conversation
in the end of the film.

Reading this remark of Oshima in newspaper, I was
thrilled by the news Oshima is to direct this movie
about British and other POWs in a Japanese camp in
W.W.Ⅱ. And, when the film was shown in 1983, I was
not disappointed.---I was deeply moved by this film.

However, after then, I began to wonder whether this
movie was really a masterpiece as “The Grand Illusion”.
Maybe, I became critical. However, seeing the DVD of
this movie a few days ago, I have come to think I was
too crirical.---I do think this movie is a masterpiece
as “The Grand Illusion” now.

There is a scene which I love very much in the early
part of this film. It is the scene Captain Yonoi
(SAKAMOTO Ryuichi) who controls the camp talks with
the British POW Lawrence(Tom Conti) walking slowly
in front of a white chapel.

The conversation is as follow.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Yonoi :How wonderful it would have been, if it could
have been invited all of you to a gathering
under our cherry trees.
Lawrence:Yes. My fondest memory of Japan is the snow.
Trees covered with snow.
Yonoi :It was snowing on the day.
Lawrence:What day?
Yonoi :Don't you know? February 26rh, 1936.
Lawrence:Ah, yes. I was in Tokyo on the day.You too?
Yonoi :No. I had been sent off to Manchuria 3 months
before. I was not there for the uprising.
Lawrence:You regret that?
Yonoi :My comrades were executed. I was left to die
after them.
Laerence:I see. So, you were one of the shining officers.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Since when I saw this film first, I have been
deeply impressed by this conversation. It is
so profound and touching. I have been wondering
which of the two scenario authors of this film,
OSHIMA Nagisa and Paul Matersberg, wrote this
conversation. I guess it was not Oshima. I imagine
this part was written by Meyersberg because such
deep affection to Japan is, in my experience,
rather of Westerners who love Japan than of the
Japanese. I was, anyway, deeply touched by this
scene of poetic conversation about cherry blossoms,
snow, and the tragic attempted coup of Febryary 26th,
1936, of Japan.

Also, I was impressed by the poignant irony of the
grim scene a Korean young man commits forced suicide
by Seppuku(Harakiri), which is an irony Japanese let
a Korean a “Japanese”. I was reminded that Oshima
was a film director who has been sympathetic to
Koreans and have been conscious about the relation
of the Japanese and Koreans.

However, above all, all may agree that it was
Takeshi(KITANO Takeshi), who appeared as sergent
HARA in this film, who contributed most to this
film. To me he looked as a “prewar Japanese”.
His face, words, manner, and so on, look to me
exactly an image of a Japanese of the prewar Japan.

So, when I saw the last scene of this film, in which
Hara(Takeshi), who will be executed on the next day,
repeats saying
“Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, Mr.Lawrence!”
to Lawrence who visited him in the prison, as his
words of etarnal farewell, I felt his words of
“Merry Christmas”as if like a message from the
prewar Japanese to the postwar Japanese including
myself.

In this sense, Oshima, who is a leftist, might have
made a film whichi is not like “The Grand Illusion”
but a film like “Ash and Diamond” for the Japanese.

Dec 23rd, 2008

(On the 60th obit of the 7　Japanese “A-class war criminals”)

NISHIOKA Masanori

http://nishikamasanori.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/

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