CANNES, France -- David Bowie put on 348 years to play the title role in

"Exhuming Mr. Rice," a new film that screened this month at the Cannes International

Film Festival.

The 52-year-old, chameleonlike musician plays 400-year-old Mr. Rice, who helps a

cancer-stricken 12-year-old boy search for a magical elixir.

"I thought [the script] was charming, compassionate, touching and very well-written,"

Bowie said in a statement. "I really wanted to be part of it."

But it wasn't easy for the filmmakers to get the script to Bowie, who has acted in more

than 30 films since making his screen debut in the 1976 sci-fi movie "The Man Who Fell

to Earth."

"[It] involved going through a lot of gatekeepers," said Colleen Nystedt, the movie's

producer.

Bowie said he doesn't go looking for scripts. "They seem to find their way to me," he said.

"Every now and again, a script will come along that really touches me for some reason or

another, or there will be somebody attached to it that I want to work with. I tend to find

myself in films for those conditions."

In the low-budget Canadian film, written by J.H. Wyman (a pseudonym for Joel Wyner),

Bowie plays a kindly man who lives next door to 12-year-old Owen (played by 14-year-old

Bill Switzer), who lives fearfully in death's shadow. Bowie's Mr. Rice, who doesn't

have much time left himself, wants Owen to throw off the fear that paralyzes him and start

living life more fully.

Rice eventually leads Owen on a hunt for a magical potion that will give the person who

drinks it one full life.

It was one of about 600 films that screened at the prestigious Cannes festival, which ran

May 12-23.

Bowie, who plays his role with a shy smile and uplifted eyebrows, said people will

connect with the story because it concerns illness, which touches almost everyone in

some way. His character shares with the 12-year-old boy the key to spiritual life.

As for the glowing, bright-blue magic potion that ends up saving both their lives, Bowie

said he wouldn't mind getting his thin white paws on some. "I haven't come across

[anything like it] in 30 years of rock 'n' roll," he said. "It would fetch a mean street price, I'll

tell you, if you could get some."

None of Bowie's music appears in the movie, which was shot in and around

Vancouver, British Columbia, and was directed by Nicholas Kendall. The

movie uses original music by Simon Kendall -- his panpipe melodies

recall the score to "Titanic" -- along with songs by Tom Cochrane, Sharkskin and the Creators.

Separately, Bowie has a song, "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell," in the upcoming

drama "Stigmata," which features a score by Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan.