Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (Japanese: ), also known in many European editions as Furyo (俘虜, Japanese for "prisoner of war"), is a 1983 British-Japanese wartime drama film directed by Nagisa Oshima, produced by Jeremy Thomas and starring David Bowie, Tom Conti, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Takeshi Kitano and Jack Thompson. The screenplay by Oshima with Paul Mayersberg was based on Sir Laurens van der Post's experiences as a Japanese prisoner of war during World War II as depicted in his works "The Seed and the Sower" (1963) and "The Night of the New Moon" (1970). Sakamoto also wrote
Laurens van Pyl and their meetings and were now "miss off other exercitiën of the Romish ceremonies pauselijcke off" forbidden. Under his rule and that of his successor Rhee was the flora of the island studied and watercolors depicted. Laurens van Pyl Laurens van Pyl was a Dutch colonial administrator who held the post of Governor of Dutch Ceylon. He was appointed on 3 December 1680 and was Governor until 19 June 1693. He was succeeded by Thomas van Rhee. He gave new meaning to the Ceylon policy that the VOC was forced to formulate after the King of Kandy in 1670 a