# Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)

> A British prisoner’s arrival at a Japanese wartime camp destabilizes a rigid code of honor and exposes the dangerous intimacy beneath cultural and military conflict.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/movie/6844

## Facts

- Runtime: 124 min
- Genres: Drama, History, War
- Director: Nagisa Ōshima
- Cast: David Bowie, Tom Conti, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Takeshi Kitano, Jack Thompson, Johnny Ohkura, Alistair Browning, James Malcolm
- TMDB rating: 7.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085933/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Mood: meditative, austere, tense, serious historical viewing, arthouse film night

## Synopsis

A gripping tale of honor and survival amidst the horrors of war.

## Movies like Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

- [Paradise Road (1997)](https://ember.film/movie/54278)
- [Bent (1997)](https://ember.film/movie/11855)
- [The Burmese Harp (1956)](https://ember.film/movie/20841)
- [Empire of the Sun (1987)](https://ember.film/movie/5223)
- [Breaker Morant (1980)](https://ember.film/movie/8041)
- [Taboo (1999)](https://ember.film/movie/12433)
- [The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959)](https://ember.film/movie/19492)
- [The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)](https://ember.film/movie/6509)
- [To End All Wars (2001)](https://ember.film/movie/1181)
- [The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (1959)](https://ember.film/movie/21550)

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