Second World War drama based on a novel and stories by Laurens van der Post, who died in December, the first of tonight's two films starring David Bowie
Also starring Tom Conti, 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. Ryuichi Sakamoto, who plays Captain Yonoi, also provides the film's atmospheric soundtrack.
Director Nagisa Oshima (1982, 15)
? See Films: pages 50-55 ****