Second World War drama set in a Japanese PoW camp, starring David Bowie, Tom Conti and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Java, 1942: a young Japanese camp commandant tries to impose strict discipline on his captives. At the same time he holds a grudging respect for the prisoners' liaison officer, Colonel Lawrence, who can speak Japanese. But the arrival of a new British prisoner, Major Jack Celliers, initiates a stern test of will for both sides.
Nagisa Oshima, the most controversial director of the Japanese New Wave, made his English-language debut with this affecting story set in a PoW camp during the Second World War. Tom Conti stars as a bilingual prisoner who is forced to act as intermediary between commandant Ryuichi Sakamoto and his sadistic number two Takeshi "Beat" Kitano, and the blustering British CO Jack Thompson. Treading carefully in matters of duty and culpability, Oshima creates credible and complex characters, who are played with distinction by his international cast. If you can excuse the sight of the then 35-year-old David Bowie in a school uniform, this will prove most rewarding.
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Major Jack "Straffer" Celliers | David Bowie |
| Colonel John Lawrence | Tom Conti |
| Captain Yonoi | Ryuichi Sakamoto |
| Sergeant Gengo Hara | Takeshi Kitano |
| Group Captain Hicksley | Jack Thompson |
| Kanemoto | Johnny Okura |
| De Jong | Alistair Browning |
| Celliers's brother | James Malcolm |
| Celliers, aged 12 | Chris Broun |
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Director | Nagisa Oshima |
