It stars David Bowie as the title character, a mysterious man who leaves after death a series of clues to a 12-year-old boy with cancer, to help him appreciate life.

Kendall recalled Bowie as a quiet and introverted man, who had remarked that he wanted a clone so that he could act alongside his musical and artistic interests.

[5] Producer Colleen Hardwick, who had idolised Bowie as a schoolgirl, said she "about died" to hear him make the phonecall to accept the role.

[9] Robert Roten of the Laramie Movie Scope gave the film a B, for telling a story about cancer in a "very non-depressing and positive way".

Roten summed the film up as "very well-written, well-acted and well-directed" and also praised its "haunting, etheral Celtic-flavored music", but pointed out that fans of Bowie would be disappointed that he only appears for around ten minutes.

However, he pointed out that although Rice's appearances exclusively in flashbacks created an "aura" around the character, it should have been explained how he and Owen had become friends in the first place.

Kendrick was repulsed by the scene of the children exhuming Rice, finding it too graphic to be legitimately considered as a metaphor for Owen confronting death eye-to-eye.

[3] In The New York Times, Elvis Mitchell found Bowie to be the highlight of the film, noting how he brought a presence to small roles.