Group Capt. Hicksley: [about something Yonoi just said] What the hell’s Gyo?
Colonel Lawrence: Uh… It’s a Japanese word for laziness.
Group Capt. Hicksley: Laziness! Jesus Christ, what makes he…
Colonel Lawrence: Why don’t you listen? He means spiritual laziness, and he believes that if he takes away the food and the water, then he also takes away the nourishment of laziness.
Group Capt. Hicksley: You don’t believe this bull shit!
Colonel Lawrence: I don’t fucking know! Sir, I will tell you something that may surprise you! If we’ll do it, he’ll do it.
I always bookend this film with a viewing of The Bridge Over The River Kwai, and I did just that two weeks ago. It’s a study in unintentional cruelty and cultural clashes… Codes of Honor gone wrong. But redemption of all through a spark, a seed of humanity. This clip always makes me cry. The backstory explains why. In the Film, Colonel Lawrence (Tom Conti) is a British prisoner who knows Japanese, and consistently serves as a messenger and translator between the Japanese authorities and the Allied prisoners. A translator both linguistically and culturally. Sergeant Hara (Takeshi, a Japanese comedian brilliantly cast by Director Nagisa Ôshima in this role) is his primary point of contact, and despite the most heinous human brutalities (usually caused through misunderstandings) Hara has in multiple moments of human kindness, prevented the blackest of atrocities from occurring, as well as saving Colonel Lawrence’s life.
However, abuses still occurred, and Hara has been found guilty by a tribunal, and is due to be executed. This scene occurs as Lawrence visits Hara 3 years after the events depicted in the film, before Hara’s execution. Wow. I teared up a little writing that last part.
Anyhow, enough of my maudlin comments, on to frames.
The Olde English 800:
The Roger Maris (61*):
The 1hr21min20sec:
The Two Centuries:
The (not so) Rare Beltway (the 202):
Oh, and besides having David Bowie in a fantastic performance, another brilliant performance is delivered by another musician/actor, Ryuichi Sakamoto, who also composed the brilliant soundtrack.
Let’s Dance, @ChristienMurawski !
