Bowie PDF Book from JFK247

The film was intriguing, the antithesis of a
conventional prisoner of war drama. Three key roles
were played by comparative novices: Bowie as
Celliers, Ryuichi Sakomoto as Captain Yonoi – the
commandant who is obsessed with him – and
comedian Beat Takeshi as Sergeant Hara. At the
centre of this nexus is Tom Conti, as Laurens Van
Der Post, who attempts to bridge the huge cultural
gaps between them all. Conti’s humanity carries the
film; Bowie and Sakomoto’s characters are stylised,
almost ritualistic – both of them yearn to be
archetypes.
Oshima filmed extremely fast, with no rushes, and
Sakomoto would later comment that when he saw
his own performance, ‘I couldn’t believe how bad my
acting was … I was traumatised.’ Bowie’s portrayal
of Jack Celliers – the perfect soldier who is
attempting to atone for abandoning his crippled
brother – is also variable, most notably the faintly
risible flashback to Celliers as a seventeen-year-old
schoolboy. Nonetheless, Bowie’s physical beauty –
all jagged teeth and exquisite cheekbones – and
ethereal air is perfect for a character who, as his
initials indicate, is a Christ-like figure, human but
other-worldly. Flawed but meaningful, engagingly
human, Bowie’s performance would prove the high
watermark of his cinematic career.
In America, the movie – titled Merry Christmas
Mr. Lawrence – was a box-office failure; as
scriptwriter Paul Mayersberg explains, ‘US
audiences were baffled by a prison camp movie
where nobody tried to escape’ and roles of this