Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence Quotes

  • Yonoi: To be or not to be, that is the question, Major Celliers.

  • Col. John Lawrence: There are times when victory is very hard to take.

  • Group Capt. Hicksley: You know you don't have to obey this man, Lawrence.

    Col. John Lawrence: Well, I'm the liaison officer, so I'm liaising.

  • Col. John Lawrence: So Sergeant Hara you're human after all.

    Sgt. Gengo Hara: Lawrence-san! Do you know Father Christmas?

    Maj. Jack Celliers: What's he saying to us?

    Col. John Lawrence: Yes Hara-san. Father Christmas means Santa Claus.

    Sgt. Gengo Hara: [laughs] Tonight I'm Father Christmas. I'm Father Christmas! Father Christmas!

    Col. John Lawrence: He thinks he's Santa Claus. Father. Father. Father Christmas.

    Sgt. Gengo Hara: [laughs] Father Christmas!

  • [last lines]

    Sgt. Gengo Hara: Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence!

  • Group Capt. Hicksley: [about something Yonoi just said] What the hell's Gyo?

    Col. John Lawrence: Uh... It's a Japanese cure for laziness.

    Group Capt. Hicksley: Laziness! Jesus Christ, what makes he...

    Col. John 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 that bullshit, do you?

    Col. John Lawrence: I don't fucking know! Sir, I will tell you something that may surprise you! If *we* do it, *he'll* do it.

  • Maj. Jack Celliers: Lawrence... We're going walkies.

    Col. John Lawrence: Jack...

    Maj. Jack Celliers: Now listen, we're getting out of here. You're going over my shoulder.

    Col. John Lawrence: We can't, Jack. The tube line doesn't come out this far.

    Maj. Jack Celliers: It's okay. Everything's all right. Captain Yonoi gave me a Persian rug.

  • Maj. Jack Celliers: Look, why don't I have a defense council? Excactly what kind of trial are you giving me? This whole thing's a bloody farce.

    President of the Court: [In Japanese] Erase all remarks by the defendant form the court record.

  • [Jack is being led to the firing squad]

    Lt. Ito: [Chuckles] Can you guess what I'm thinking?

    Maj. Jack Celliers: Yes, I think so. Can you?

    [Lt. Ito's smile turns into a frown, he strikes Celliers]

  • Col. John Lawrence: [to Yonoi] It's your gods. It's your bloody awful stinking gods. They made you what you are. May they rot in whatever filthy hell they came from! Damn them! Damn your fucking gods! Damn! Damn them!

  • Maj. Jack Celliers: [eating flowers] Well I've tried the Manju, and I've tried the flowers, and I think the flowers taste better.

  • Yonoi: Why do you not fight me? If you defeat me, you will be free!

  • [first lines]

    Sgt. Gengo Hara: [in Japanese] Wake up, Lawrence.

    Col. John Lawrence: [in Japanese] What is it? Why so early, Sergeant Hara?

    Sgt. Gengo Hara: [in Japanese] Hurry up!

    Group Capt. Hicksley: What does he want?

    Col. John Lawrence: [in English] I'll find out?

    Sgt. Gengo Hara: [in Japanese] What?

    Group Capt. Hicksley: You don't have to take orders from this man, you know, Lawrence.

    Col. John Lawrence: Well, I'm the liaison officer, so I'm liaising.

    Sgt. Gengo Hara: [in Japanese] What did he say?

    Group Capt. Hicksley: You're sure you know what you're doing, old man?

    Col. John Lawrence: Yes, and whatever this is, it's important to him that I see it.

    [in Japanese]

    Col. John Lawrence: Let's go, Sergeant.

    Sgt. Gengo Hara: [in Japanese] You don't understand. Only Lawrence understands.

    POW: I'll keep an eye on them, sir.

    Group Capt. Hicksley: Very good.

    Group Capt. Hicksley: [Sgt. Hara whacks the POW on the head with a bamboo cane. The POW collapses in pain and blood spills from his injury] Bastards!

  • Maj. Jack Celliers: [about to be led to the firing squad, mimes shaving with a straight razor, impersonating two people having a conversation] Good day for it, sir.

    Maj. Jack Celliers: Yes... You have family waiting for you, corporal?

    Maj. Jack Celliers: Wife and two kids, sir. One with and one without. How's about yourself, sir?

    [mimes eating from his palm, then crying for a moment]

    Maj. Jack Celliers: Tea?

    Maj. Jack Celliers: Yes, I'd like that.

    [mimes drinking, then smoking and crushing an imaginary cigarette]

  • Col. John Lawrence: [talking to Jack through the wall dividing two holding cells] You should have joined the Foreign Legion, Jack. It would have been an easier life.

    Maj. Jack Celliers: That's the last thing I want.

    Col. John Lawrence: [hearing the soldiers approaching] Ah, here comes the milkman now!

    Maj. Jack Celliers: [joins in the joke] Two pints?

    Col. John Lawrence: Shouldn't we order an extra one? It's Christmas, remember?

    Maj. Jack Celliers: [patters] Heavens, Christmas already. Well, it was lovely chatting but I really must fly.

    Col. John Lawrence: [laughs] It's not you. They've come for me!

    [being dragged out of the cell]

    Maj. Jack Celliers: [being dragged too] How is it John you're always wrong?

  • Col. John Lawrence: You are the victim of men who think they are right... Just as one day you and captain Yonoi believed absolutely that you were right. And the truth is of course that nobody is right...

  • Lieutenant Iwata: A Japanese soldier would never submit to being caught. He would prefer to die!

    Maj. Jack Celliers: Well, then, I'm not a Japanese.

  • Lieutenant Iwata: You must tell us your past history.

    Maj. Jack Celliers: My past is my business!

  • Yonoi: What did you say?

    Maj. Jack Celliers: I said I thought they were crackers.

    Yonoi: What?

    Maj. Jack Celliers: I said I thought they were mad!

  • Interpreter: A delay this long usually means a firing squad. But nowadays new officers like to try out their svords on white necks.

  • Sgt. Gengo Hara: Lawrence, don't interrupt my nap.

    Col. John Lawrence: I'm sorry.

    Sgt. Gengo Hara: I dreamed I was in Manchuria, settling in on top of Marlene Dietrich.

  • Sgt. Gengo Hara: I get it. You think they'll all want to bugger him. So, it's true: all Englishmen are queer.

  • Sgt. Gengo Hara: You're all afraid of queers, aren't you? Samurai aren't afraid of queers.

    Col. John Lawrence: War strengthens bonds of friendship between men, but that doesn't mean all soldiers turn queer.

    Sgt. Gengo Hara: You're not genuine soldiers. You're lowly POWs. That's why you lack discipline and beg me for favors. You should be ashamed.

    Col. John Lawrence: Sergeant Hara, I have nothing to be ashamed of.

  • Yonoi: What kind of a man is he? Is he a close friend of yours?

    Col. John Lawrence: No. He's not a close friend, no.

    Yonoi: What kind of a soldier is he?

    Col. John Lawrence: Oh, he's a fine soldier. We had a nickname for him in the 8th Army. We called him straffer Jack. Straffer is a kind of, um, it's very difficult to translate. Straffer is, um, it is astonishingly difficult sometimes. Um, in any case, he was a soldier's soldier.

  • Group Capt. Hicksley: I am not required under International Law to furnish the enemy with any information.

    Yonoi: This is not North Africa. We are not Germans! There is no Geneva Convention here.

  • Col. John Lawrence: Captain Yonoi, please try to understand. Group Captain Hicksley is an honorable man.

    Yonoi: They are all, all honorable men. As commanding officer, I prefer another honorable man.

  • Col. John Lawrence: Sir, I know these people. I wish you'd be guided by my knowledge.

    Group Capt. Hicksley: I know these people, too. They're the enemy! And you're a British soldier.

  • Sgt. Gengo Hara: Lawrence, why are you still alive? I'd admire you more if you killed yourself. How can a fine officer like you stand such shame?

    Col. John Lawrence: We don't consider it shameful. Being taken prisoner is a matter of chance. Of course, we don't enjoy being prisoners. We want to escape. We want to go on fighting you.

    Sgt. Gengo Hara: Don't lie. Those are just excuses.

    Col. John Lawrence: It's true! We want to win the war! For us, this camp isn't the end. We won't kill ourselves. That's cowardly.

    Sgt. Gengo Hara: You're just scared of dying! I'm not!

  • Col. John Lawrence: My fondest memory of Japan is the snow. The trees covered with snow.

  • Group Capt. Hicksley: [to Lawrence] You Jap lover!

  • Group Capt. Hicksley: I don't know what to make of you, Lawrence. You're either very clever or you're bloody stupid.

  • Yonoi: Who do you think you are? Are you an evil spirit?

    Maj. Jack Celliers: Yes, and one of yours I hope.

  • Col. John Lawrence: He's not an evil spirit. He's a human being!

  • Yonoi: If you didn't do it, who did? We must punish someone!

    Col. John Lawrence: But why? Would you rather punish the wrong man, than see the crime itself go unsolved? And unpunished!

    Yonoi: Yes.

    Col. John Lawrence: You mean I'm to die because you think if there's a crime then it must be punished? And it doesn't matter who is punished?

    Yonoi: Yes.

  • Col. John Lawrence: So I'm to die to preserve your sense of order.

    Yonoi: Yes. You understand, Lawrence. You must die for me.

    Col. John Lawrence: I understand. But, I won't die for you!

  • Col. John Lawrence: Something's changed. I read it all wrong.

  • Maj. Jack Celliers: What is wrong with them, Lawrence?

    Col. John Lawrence: I don't know. They were a nation of anxious people. And they could do nothing individually. So they went mad, en masse. God I wish they'd stop hitting me. I don't want to hate any individual Japanese.

  • Maj. Jack Celliers: What's your Christian name, by the way, Lawrence?

    Col. John Lawrence: John.

    Maj. Jack Celliers: John. John Lawrence. Good night, John Lawrence.

  • Maj. Jack Celliers: [Lawrence cries out] John? What's up John?

    Col. John Lawrence: I was dreaming. I was dreaming about this woman.

    Maj. Jack Celliers: Christ, sounds like she cut it off.

    Col. John Lawrence: I only met he twice. - - I met her only twice. Just before the fall of Singapore. The streets were just packed with people. Everybody was trying to get out. They'd all gone mad. The hotels were packed. Everybody was screaming and shouting. And there was this woman, who was - she was different from all the rest, really. She didn't seem to be frightened. I was frightened. We talked about the war and she kept saying, "Tell me the truth. What's the truth? I want to know the truth." It was a bloody silly question, really. Anyway, we arranged to have breakfast together the next morning. And would you believe it? I was whipped off. The attack had started. The Japanese landed. Anyway, I got back to the hotel a few days later and would you believe it? She was still there. She was standing in - in exactly the same place that I'd left her. It was as if she hadn't move since I walked away. Like I'd run across the street for a packet of cigarettes. I don't think I want to talk about this anymore really.

  • Col. John Lawrence: Jack? Are you there?

    Maj. Jack Celliers: Yes. I suppose so.

    Col. John Lawrence: What's the matter?

    Maj. Jack Celliers: The past, again and again.

  • Maj. Jack Celliers: I've not had many romantic interludes of great importance. My experience lies in the field of betrayal.

  • Group Capt. Hicksley: He's pissed as a newt.

  • Yonoi: Do you think you can get away with such as obvious lie?

    Group Capt. Hicksley: I'm told it is the Japanese way to lie, sir.

  • Yonoi: As punishment for today, you're confined to quarters until your departure.

    Sgt. Gengo Hara: Yes.

    Yonoi: Without sake.

  • Maj. Jack Celliers: I wish I could sing.

  • Group Capt. Hicksley: Understand them do you, Lawrence? If I were you, I would commit harakiri.

  • Camp P.O.W.s: [serenading Celliers] The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll not want; He makes me down to lie, In pastures green; He leadeth me, The quiet waters by. My soul He doth restore again, And me to walk doth make, Within the paths of righteousness...

  • Sgt. Gengo Hara: Do you remember that Christmas?

    Col. John Lawrence: Yes. Yes. Yes.

    Sgt. Gengo Hara: It was a good Christmas, wasn't it?

    Col. John Lawrence: It was a wonderful Christmas. You were drunk.

    Sgt. Gengo Hara: May I go on and on being drunk!

    Col. John Lawrence: Sake is wonderful.

    Sgt. Gengo Hara: Thank you. Father Christmas. Thank you.

  • Col. John Lawrence: Jack...

    Maj. Jack Celliers: Hmm?

    Col. John Lawrence: [referring to Capt. Yonoi] I think he's just taken a bit of a shine to you.

  • Col. John Lawrence: Would you rather punish the wrong man, than see the crime go unsolved and unpunished?

    Yonoi: Yes.

    Col. John Lawrence: You mean *I'm* to die, because you think if there's a crime, then it must be punished... and it doesn't matter *who* is punished?

    Yonoi: Yes!

    Col. John Lawrence: [a bit incredulous, starts to laugh] You're not by any chance a Gilbert & Sullivan fan, are you?

Extended Reading
  • Jakob 2022-03-21 09:03:27

    The main line is that JACK planted a seed in YONOI's heart and continued to express it; the sub-line is that LAWRENCE planted a seed in HARA's heart, continued to hide, showed when drunk and at the last meeting, and overwhelmed everything. The repressed same-sex emotions (love and friendship) and cultural differences/way of thinking of different backgrounds intertwined in a depressing, isolated, hopeless background is sighing. The soundtrack is undoubtedly magical, mysterious, clear, and wandering.

  • Teagan 2022-03-26 09:01:14

    Version Long Yi, davied bowie, how flamboyant you are!