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You can stream Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983) on Criterion Channel with a subscription.

Island of Java, 1942, during World War II. British Major Jack Celliers arrives at a Japanese prison camp, run by the strict Captain Yonoi. Colonel John Lawrence, who has a profound knowledge of Japanese culture, and Sergeant Hara, brutal and simpleton, will witness the struggle of wills between two men from very different backgrounds who are tragically destined to clash.

Clashing codes of honor and repressed desire ignite a psychological battleground within a humid Japanese prisoner-of-war camp. Sakamoto’s haunting, crystalline score elevates this quiet collision of cultures into something transcendent.

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