Set in a Japanese prison camp in 1942 and based on the novel The Seed and the Sower by Laurens van der Post, the film investigates a confrontation of enemies when a newly transferred British military officer (David Bowie) clashes psychologically, culturally, and physically with the camp’s commander (Ryuichi Sakamoto), who becomes infatuated with him. The unforgettable sound track was composed by Sakamoto. 1983, new 35mm print, in English and Japanese with English subtitles, 124 minutes.

Copresented with the Consortium for the Study of the Asias, University of Minnesota.

The Nagisa Oshima retrospective and its North American tour was organized by James Quandt for Cinematheque Ontario, Toronto. The following individuals and organizations made the retrospective possible: Nagisa Oshima, Tokyo; Marie Suzuki, The Japan Foundation, Tokyo; Masayo Okada, Yuka Sukano, Atsuko Fukuda, Kawakita Memorial Film Institute, Tokyo; Eiko Oshima, Oshima Productions, Tokyo; Peter Becker, Kim Hendrickson, Fumiko Takagi, Sarah Finklea, Janus Films, New York.

Set in a Japanese prison camp in 1942 and based on the novel The Seed and the Sower by Laurens van der Post, the film investigates a confrontation of enemies when a newly transferred British military officer (David Bowie) clashes psychologically, culturally, and physically with the camp’s commander (Ryuichi Sakamoto), who becomes infatuated with him. The unforgettable sound track was composed by Sakamoto. 1983, new 35mm print, in English and Japanese with English subtitles, 124 minutes.

Copresented with the Consortium for the Study of the Asias, University of Minnesota.

The Nagisa Oshima retrospective and its North American tour was organized by James Quandt for Cinematheque Ontario, Toronto. The following individuals and organizations made the retrospective possible: Nagisa Oshima, Tokyo; Marie Suzuki, The Japan Foundation, Tokyo; Masayo Okada, Yuka Sukano, Atsuko Fukuda, Kawakita Memorial Film Institute, Tokyo; Eiko Oshima, Oshima Productions, Tokyo; Peter Becker, Kim Hendrickson, Fumiko Takagi, Sarah Finklea, Janus Films, New York.