The music world lost an iconic rock legend in 2016 when singer David Bowie died at the age of 69. But people may forget that Bowie was also an accomplished actor who appeared in an eclectic array of films, both in lead and supporting roles and sometimes in fun or bizarre cameos (see David Lynch's 1992 TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME for the bizarre cameo). Rock stars in a way are already movie actors. Every night on stage in a music hall or packed football stadium, they give a performance, each one unique and different. Bowie first hit the big screen in Nicolas Roeg's sci-fi THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH (1976). He would go on to appear in Tony Scott's vampire film THE HUNGER (1983) with Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon; LABYRINTH (1986) directed by Muppets creator Jim Henson; Julien Temple's ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS (1986); as Andy Warhol in Julian Schnabel's BASQUIAT (1996); and in one of his last big screen appearances as inventor Nikola Tesla in Christopher Nolan's THE PRESTIGE (2006).
But Bowie would also pop up in small roles or cameos like John Landis's INTO THE NIGHT (1985) as a sleazy hit man or as Pontius Pilate in Martin Scorsese's THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST (1988) or as himself in ZOOLANDER (2001) with Ben Stiller. Bowie would also appear in countless music videos during the MTV craze and beyond, promoting and singing his songs, playing characters like Ziggy Stardust, a medium he was well equipped for with his sense of visuals to go with his music.
One of Bowie's films that stands out from the horror, sci-fi and music genre films he made is a World War II prison camp drama called MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE (1983). I have chosen it as my Christmas film this year even though there's nothing Christmas-y about the film except the title. It seems like an odd choice for Bowie yet what better challenge for a rock singer seeking recognition as an actor then to try a role that's out of his comfort zone.
Directed by Japanese director Nagisa Oshima with a screenplay by Oshima with Paul Meyersberg and based on the novel The Seed and the Sower by Sir Laurens van der Post (based on his experiences as a POW), MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE is set in a Japanese POW camp in 1942 Java (now Indonesia) during World War II. The film opens (and ends) on the face of Sergeant Gengo Hara (Takeshi "Beat" Kitano), a brutal but pragmatic prison guard. He wakes up British Colonel John Lawrence (Tom Conti) from the barracks to show him a scandal he's uncovered. Hara has caught a Korean prison guard Kanemoto (Johnny Ohkura) raping a Dutch prisoner De Jong (Alistair Browning). Hara is about to execute Kanemoto when the camp's commandant Captain Yonoi (Ryuichi Sakamoto) shows up wanting answers. Yonoi is a rising star in the Japanese military. Hara's explanation will have to wait as Yonoi heads off to a military trial run by the President of the Court (Ryunosute Kaneda) and Lieutenant Iwata (Takashi Naito). The defendant is Major Jack "Straffer" Celliers (David Bowie), a captured Brit who surrendered after a series of raids on the Japanese. Jack is found guilty of crimes against Japan but something about Jack fascinates Yonoi. About to face a firing squad, Yonoi intervenes, finding a technicality to save the Brit, whisking Jack to the POW camp instead.
Jack arrives at the camp only to faint from beatings by his previous captors and the heat. Yonoi inquires about Jack's past but Lawrence only knows him casually. Yonoi wants to make Jack POW Commander much to the chagrin of the current, old school Group Captain Hicksley (Jack Thompson). Yonoi forces the camp to watch Kanemoto commit seppuku (suicide). Hicksley is replaced as commander not by Jack but Lawrence. During a roll call, Jack is discovered missing. But he shows up soon after with food for the men and flowers for De Jong who has died after biting his tongue off during Kanemoto's suicide. The guards believe Jack is an evil spirit. Sergeant Hara discovers a radio in the barracks, accusing Jack and Lawrence of smuggling it in. As punishment, Jack is locked up and Lawrence put in bondage. That night, Yonoi's butler tries to kill Jack but Jack overpowers him and frees Lawrence. Jack wants to escape and take Lawrence with him but they're quickly caught again by Yonoi before they can even leave the camp. Yonoi wants to fight Jack. Jack knows his knife is no match for Yonoi's sword. Jack refuses further enraging Yonoi.
Both Jack and Lawrence are to be executed for trying to escape and the forbidden radio. Jack and Lawrence are placed in confinement separated by a wall where they can still converse. Jack reveals to Lawrence in flashback his betrayal of his younger brother (James Malcolm) during a hazing incident at their English boarding school that haunts him. Suddenly, guards come in and lead Lawrence and Jack to a room where Sergeant Hara waits. Hara's a little drunk. It's Christmas Eve and Hara wants to be Father Christmas to them. Hara turns Lawrence and Jack back over to Hicksley who's been reinstated as Commander of the POWs.
Hara's disobedience enrages Yonoi. Hara explains that he was wrong about the prisoners smuggling in the radio. It was another prisoner who had smuggled in the radio (and Hara has executed the prisoner already). Lawrence and Jack were innocent. Yonoi orders the entire camp and even those prisoners who are sick and injured in the infirmary to stand on parade in the hot Java sun. It's a tense situation. The guards are all armed and a machine gun is ominously cocked and aimed at the prisoners. Yonoi's about to lose control. He orders Hicksley to kneel before him. Yonoi draws his sword, ready to execute Hicksley as an example when Jack steps up and kisses Yonoi on each cheek. Yonoi collapses. A new Commandant of Camp (Hideo Murata) takes over. A large group of prisoners including Hara march off to build an airstrip. Jack's sacrifice saved the other prisoners but he pays a price for his act. And in a touching epilogue, four years after the war, Lawrence and Hara are briefly reunited. Only their situations are drastically different.
MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE is the classic World War II prisoner of war tale in the tradition of Billy Wilder's STALAG 17 (1953), David Lean's THE BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KWAI (1957), and John Sturges THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963) but it's a WW II POW story made as an art film. There are no prison breakouts or the blowing up of a bridge. The biggest action in MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE is when Jack enrages his captors by eating some flowers he picked for a dead prisoner. But MERRY CHRISTMAS has all the elements of the POW film. David Bowie's character Jack Celliers is like Steve McQueen's Hilts in THE GREAT ESCAPE. He's the provocateur. Bowie's Jack gets under the skin of the Japanese authority just like McQueen got under the German brass's skin. Only Jack kisses the Japanese Commandant Yonoi on the cheek to save his fellow prisoners. There's no digging of an escape tunnel or last minute air raid.
Tom Conti's Col. Lawrence has the role of mediator between the Japanese guards and his fellow POWs like Alec Guinness in THE BRIDGE OVER THE RIVE KWAI or Richard Attenborough in THE GREAT ESCAPE. Lawrence has an uneasy alliance with the head guard Sgt. Hara. Lawrence even speaks Japanese, acting as translator for the camp. Hara's not afraid to beat Lawrence when ordered by Yonoi or to show his dominance. But Hara is fascinated by the English and their customs. Hara believes suicide is honorable. Lawrence disagrees. But Hara thinks surrender is shameful. Lawrence feels otherwise. The relationship between Lawrence and Hara is one of the most fascinating parts of MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE. In fact, MR. LAWRENCE is the tale of two relationships between men. Yonoi's strange fascination/admiration for Jack and the uneasy partnership between Lawrence and Hara as captor and captive.
One theme that MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE explores that you won't find in the studio made POW war films is a gay subtext. The film opens with two men caught having sex. But was it rape or just a prisoner and a guard lonely and seeking companionship? The filmmakers leave it somewhat vague but both the Japanese and the Allied prisoners look unfavorably on both men, the consequences leading to death for both guard and prisoner. Then, there's Yonoi's obsession with the blue eyed, blonde haired Jack Celliers. Yonoi is the typical Japanese commander who believes in duty, honor, and discipline. But does he fall in love with Jack in that court room? Does he see Jack as his kindred spirit, a shining young officer like Yonoi? Jack stands up for his honor and country while on trial. He surrendered but only because the Japanese threatened to kill everyone in the village he was hiding in. When Jack is caught after freeing Lawrence, Yonoi wants Jack to fight him. Is this Yonoi's substitute for physical contact? Jack refuses to fight and Yonoi acts like a spurned lover. But Jack plays on Yonoi's infatuation with him at the end, publicly kissing Yonoi on both cheeks in front of his men to diffuse a tense situation. Yonoi collapses, perhaps from ecstasy or in shock, unable to grasp the moment. Jack has signed his death warrant but he's saved the prisoners from a possible massacre.
Bowie's Jack Celliers in MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE is a Christ like figure (JC - Jack Celliers; Jesus Christ), not the typical heroic adventure character of a POW war film. Traumatized by his lack of action in protecting his younger brother from bullying in boarding school, Jack repeatedly sacrifices himself to protect his fellow countrymen and comrades in the prison camp. Jack won't end up on a cross but his outcome is just as powerful. Bowie is such a striking figure with his blonde hair and angelic looks, it's easy to see why director Oshima cast him. Oshima saw Bowie not at a concert or in a film but on Broadway appearing in the play The Elephant Man that convinced him Bowie was the right person to play the physically demanding role of Celliers.
The other actor that filmgoers will recognize besides Bowie (and perhaps Australian actor Jack Thompson from 1982's THE MAN SNOWY RIVER who plays Hicksley) is Tom Conti as interpreter/liaison Col. Lawrence. Conti's actually in the film more than Bowie and as Lawrence has the unenviable task of trying to appease their captors while keeping his men alive. Conti has the perfect temperament, a calm voice amongst the insanity, only occasionally raising his voice when the situation needs it. Lawrence's whimper when he's struck by the guards is chilling and reminds us that as good a person as Lawrence is, his life hangs by a thread like the other prisoners. Although he's had a prolific career, Conti's other best known film is probably Robert Ellis Miller's REUBEN, REUBEN (also 1983) where Conti plays a drunk Scottish poet and sports much shaggier hair than in MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE.
Surprisingly, there's another musician acting in MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE besides Bowie. Believe it or not, Ryuichi Sakamoto who plays the tightly wound Captain Yonoi not only composed the haunting music for MR. LAWRENCE but also co-starred and composed the music for Bernardo Bertolucci's THE LAST EMPEROR (1987) and provided the film score for Alejandro G. Inarritu's THE REVENANT (2015) starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Tom Hardy.
Bowie and Conti are the most familiar faces to western audiences in MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE but Takeshi "Beat" Kitano who plays Sgt. Hara steals the film for me. In the tradition of Sig Ruman's German Sergeant Schultz in STALAG 17, Kitano's Hara is the head prison guard that the POWs want to stay on the right side of. But unlike Schultz's friendly demeanor, Hara can be brutal and cold. Yet Hara and Lawrence form an uneasy alliance when Hara isn't beating Lawrence and others with his long stick. Although they don't always see eye to eye, they respect one another. Hara seems fascinated by the English. After he falsely accuses Jack and Lawrence of smuggling in a radio, he staves off their execution by acting as one of the West's favorite symbols -- Father Christmas. Their present from him is life.
I want to give a shout out to an unsung hero of MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE and that would be producer Jeremy Thomas. Thomas is a champion of producing interesting films by some of the most independent directors from 1980s to 2020 including Bernardo Bertolucci (THE LAST EMPEROR and THE SHELTERING SKY), David Cronenberg (NAKED LUNCH and CRASH), Terry Gilliam (TIDELAND), and Nicolas Roeg (BAD TIMING and EUREKA). Except for THE LAST EMPEROR, none of these films were especially commercial but Thomas believed in these iconoclastic directors and their vision. MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE director Nagisa Oshima had directed the art house favorite IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES in 1976 about a sexually obsessive relationship. It's no wonder that Oshima and Thomas would team up to make MR. LAWRENCE and also the samurai film TABOO (1999). MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE was filmed in the Cook Islands in the South Pacific and New Zealand.
Singers trying their hand at acting is nothing new. From Bing Crosby in the 40s, Frank Sinatra in the 50s, and Elvis Presley in the 60s, movies were just a natural progression for entertainers. This tradition has continued with newer generations of artists appearing in films including Mick Jagger in Donald Cammell's PERFORMANCE (1970), Kris Kristofferson and Bob Dylan in Sam Peckinpah's PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID (1973), Cher in Norman Jewison's MOONSTRUCK (1987), Whitney Houston in Mick Jackson's THE BODYGUARD (1992) and even Bono in Julie Taymor's ACROSS THE UNIVERSE (2007). But David Bowie probably has one of the most diverse film resumes and MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE is a most unexpected role from a man we're more accustomed to singing Rebel Rebel or Heroes than playing a prisoner of war in a Japanese POW camp. It shows that Bowie was not afraid to take chances and try different mediums. He was both a rebel and a hero to generations of music and film fans.
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