Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
Although David Bowie passed away ten years ago, he remains as present as ever in the minds, ears, and images of popular culture. He became a true icon, with a unique aura and a fascinating voice and presence. As if his musical success weren’t enough, Bowie also made a name for himself on screen, captivating filmmakers with his talent and charisma. While he sometimes appeared simply as himself—a star of the stage—he also crafted intriguing and deeply intense roles. Among them is Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, a film that bridges this series with the one dedicated to Nagisa Ōshima in October.
Winner of the Mainichi Film Award for Best Director for Nagisa Ōshima in 1984
On the island of Java in 1942, a prison camp for Allied forces is run with an iron fist by Japanese Captain Yonoi. Jake Celliers, a newly arrived British soldier, defiantly challenges his authority. Despite Yonoi’s apparent attraction to Jake, his severity toward him is no less—if anything, it is even greater...
Nagisa Ōshima
Nagisa Ōshima was a Japanese film director, writer, and left-wing activist who is best known for his fiction films, having directed 23 features in a 40-year career. Regarded as one of the greatest Japanese directors of all time, he stands as one of the most important figures of the Japanese New Wave, alongside Shōhei Imamura. His film style was bold, innovative and provocative. His first major film, Cruel Story of Youth (1960), was one of the first Japanese New Wave films, a youth-oriented film with an earnest portrayal of the sexual lives and criminal activities of its young protagonists. He came to greater international renown after Death By Hanging (1968), a film on the theme of capital punishment and anti-Korean sentiment that was shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 1968. His most controversial film is In the Realm of the Senses (1976), a sexually explicit film set in 1930s Japan. Throughout his career, common themes in his work included youthful rebellion, class and racial discrimination, and taboo sexuality.
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Image from Boy by Nagisa Ōshima
Nagisa Ōshima : l'ébullition des années 1960
Notre cycle consacré à Nagisa Ōshima, présenté en collaboration avec le Festival du nouveau cinéma, est l’occasion de redécouvrir certains films de la première période de son œuvre, dans les années 1960, avant qu’il ne réalise ses titres fameux des décennies suivantes. Nous présentons cinq œuvres parmi cette période féconde : Cruel Story of Youth (1960), Death by Hanging (1968), Diary of a Shinjuku Thief (1969) et Boy (1969), ainsi qu’un moyen métrage qui est un film de commande, A Small Child’s First Adventure (1963).
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