Drama · History · War
Japanese (戦場のメリークリスマス)
1983 · Directed by Nagisa Ōshima · 124 min
Java, 1942. In a Japanese-run prison camp, a British officer who understands Japanese culture tries to mediate between captors and captives. The arrival of a defiant new prisoner turns the camp into a contest of wills, ideals and pride.
Why it matters in cinema history
A key example of 1980s international art cinema: a Japanese New Wave director working across cultures, and a war film that questions the genre's habitual moral certainties.
Watch with intention
Watch it as a collision of two systems of honour, not as a fight between heroes and villains.
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