Films with: Lemle, Mickey

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

In a Japanese prison camp on Java in 1942, two British officers, John Lawrence and Jack Celliers, encounter camp commander Yonoi and his sergeant Hara. Things had been going pretty well, until charismatic, rebellious Celliers arrived. Yonoi is a devotee of the samurai ideal; neither he nor Hara can understand the stoic way in which the British prisoners accept their situation of defeat. Lawrence speaks Japanese, and ceaselessly tries to mediate between the prisoners and their overseers, translating both the words and the values of the two races. Celliers' attitude, however, is more comprehensible to Yonoi. He and Celliers arrive at a sort of détente, based on an admiration for the other, but this eventually turns into a contest of wills as the camp's carefully nurtured equilibrium is destroyed.

DVD 8567

Ram Dass fierce grace /

Richard Alpert, after being expelled from Harvard in 1963 for experimenting with LSD, morphed into Ram Dass, a serious and much loved spiritual leader, author and lecturer. This film visits Ram Dass in 2001 as he remakes his life since suffering a stroke five years ago. Balances fascinating, often hilarious footage from the hippie era with contemporary material and interviews with Ram Dass and his associates.

DVD 2390