Part of Bowie On Film.

In this captivating, skewed World War II drama from Nagisa Ôshima, David Bowie regally embodies Celliers, a British officer interned by the Japanese as a POW. Composer Ryuichi Sakamoto (who also composed this film’s hypnotic score) plays the camp commander, obsessed with the mysterious blond major — while Tom Conti is the British lieutenant colonel Lawrence, who tries to bridge the emotional and language divides between captor and prisoner. Also featuring actor-director Takeshi Kitano in his first dramatic role, the film is a multilayered, brutal, at times erotic tale of culture clash, and one of Ôshima’s greatest successes. (Synopsis courtesy of the Criterion Collection) Screening in 35mm

“Mr. Bowie's screen presence here is mercurial and arresting, and he seems to arrive at this effortlessly, though he manages to do something slyly different in every scene. The demands of his role may sometimes be improbable and elaborate, but Mr. Bowie fills them in a remarkably plain and direct way.” —Janet Maslin, New York Times (1983)

“The fact that someone actually made a World War II drama starring David Bowie and Takeshi Kitano — with queer undertones, an ’80s synth soundtrack and a powdering of Christmas spirit — well, it’s a miracle.” —Tom Graham, Little White Lies

“A fascinating character study, and one of the most interesting ‘war’ movies I have seen in a long time.” —Jackson Jackson, Collider