After Celliers arrives at the POW camp, Yonoi orders Hicksley, the captain of the prisoners, to provide a list of the weapons and firearms specialists among the prisoners, which leads to the first fierce head-on confrontation between the Japanese army and the prisoners in the film, and the following series of important The plot, from the riots of the prisoners of war led and represented by Hicksley, to the shocking kiss at the end when Hicksley faced execution for refusing to provide the list, objectively all started from the list that was always refused. Hicksley always held his head proudly, and always said a tough rejection: "We're under no obligation..."
Is this list really that important? Worth Hicksley's life to keep it a secret. In fact, the movie never reveals the usefulness of the list as we do. It is more of a wedge, foreshadowing the cultural divide that will be torn apart in the next film.
It can be said that Yonoi and Hicksley are representatives of the East and the West. Hicksley's refusal to obey is the refusal of obedience between the two cultures. In contrast to the friendship between "Nippon" Lawrence and Sergeant Hara, Hicksley always regarded the Japanese soldiers as the enemy. Hicksley said "You spend time with these japs than you do with your own men" upon seeing Lawrence and Yonoi together. When Lawrence tried to persuade him to change his attitude, he still refused, "They are enemies. And you're a British soldier."
The conflict between the orderliness of Japanese Bushido culture and Western values is directly manifested when Dutch soldiers bite their tongues and kill themselves because of the execution of their loved ones. Yonoi requested that the death be kept secret until an official announcement is made. Hicksley asks, "If you are right, you've got nothing to hide." Yonoi insists "We must wait for the official annoucement." Which of them is right? Who is wrong? No one can judge. Perhaps as Lawrence says at the end, the culture is right, the differences are right, and the wrong ones are those who always believe they are infallible. Yonoi and Hicksley, they're both wrong, they're the same kind of people.
In contrast to the absolute defenders of both cultures, Lawrence and Hara are caught between the two. Lawrence retained his understanding and respect for Japanese culture even in the final moments of his wrongful sentence to death. From his classic monologue, it can be seen that Lawrence (also director Nagisa Oshima himself) has a profound understanding of Japanese culture, "They were a nation of anxious people. They could do nothing individually. So they went mad ... I don't want to hate any individual Japanese."
And the transformation of Hara, played by Takeshi Kitano, and his friendship with Lawrence are the best parts of the movie in my eyes. When Hara first appeared, cruel, domineering, and I thought it was another despicable character who abused prisoners of war. The first transformation begins with his late-night whispered conversation in the ward with Lawrence, who doesn't understand how Lawrence can endure the humiliation of being captive. He said he dedicated his life to the emperor at the age of 12. It was only then that I discovered that this was a respectable and sighing soldier in the spirit of Bushido.
Another change in his image was when he released Celliers and Lawrence on Christmas Eve, saying he was Santa Claus, the only night where everyone was happy. Remember that the story happened after Celliers confessed to his childhood betrayal. Celliers, who is the embodiment of sunshine justice, has such a weak past, while Hara, who was usually brutal and brutal, took the risk of punishment at this time to help Lawrence get out of her crime. At this moment, Hara is the perfect "Celliers", refusing to "become silent accomplice".
When Hara laughs drunkenly saying Merry Christmas Lawrence in broken English -- Kitano's first real smile in the movie. I was stunned at the time, this is completely pure, beautiful, only a child's laughter. I've seen a lot of Takeshi Kitano's movies, and I've seen all kinds of vicissitudes of life and hard-line men he played. I have never seen such a smile, and I never even imagined that such a smile could belong to Takeshi Kitano.
And Hara's last transformation comes at the end of the film, a natural one, when he faces the death penalty as a prisoner of war. He has learned English and understands Western culture, but he still doesn't understand why he should be executed - another victim of "absolutely right". But Nagisa Oshima's films are always beautiful. In the last scene of the movie, Hara was still smiling when she was drunk four years ago, and she was still saying Merry Christmas Lawrence, as if the four years of war and pain were just a moment.
Usually when a smile appears on a dying person's face, it always makes people feel sad. But this smile was absolutely beautiful until the last moment, without any vicissitudes and sadness, as if it had never experienced the pollution of killing and war. When the film ends, the camera gradually turns dark, leaving only the eyes of the child, whose light flickers in absolute darkness.
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