Directed by Steven Spielberg, Empire of the Sun is a coming-of-age movie based on J. G. Ballard’s semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. The movie stars Christian Bale as Jamie “Jim” Graham, a bratty young British boy living in Shanghai, China, who has a fascination with flying and airplanes. During the Japanese invasion of the International Settlement, Jim is separated from his parents. He wanders the streets for a while, meeting an opportunistic American sailor named Basie (John Malkovich), he is eventually captured by the Japanese and sent to an internment camp where he has to struggle for his own survival.

Having barely grossed $22 million at the US box office ($35 mil budget), Empire of the Sun could qualify as one of Steven Spielberg’s biggest flop. This, however, doesn’t accurately depict the quality of this movie which was through the roof as I truly think this is up there as one of his best movies. This is a character driven movie and it’s true that the plot is somewhat nonexistent at times. However, there is enough great moments in this movie to make up for the occasional lack of narrative drive.

Present on nearly every frame, Christian Bale, then 13 years old, demonstrate what brilliant and credible child acting is all about. We gradually see the loss of childhood innocence in his demeanor. He goes from a bratty, aristocratic kid who is completely dependent on his parents to an Oliver Twist-type creature who does everything he can for his own survival. Jim is not your typical Hollywood hero, here is a kid who idolize the Japanese aviators and eventually steals shoes and food from the dead. Then relatively unknown John Malkovich gives a good performance as Basie and broaches on a level of emotional complexity that made his character less of a caricature than the material gives him credit for. Other supporting characters such as Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers, Ben Stiller, and Joe Pantoliano make appearances but they are not asked to do much of anything unfortunately.

Visually, this film is incredibly stunning and the cinematography is one of the main highlight. The movie was shot partly in Shanghai which, at the time, had barely changed since the end of World War II, giving the movie an atmospheric feeling of authenticity. The CGI of the airplanes still looks astoundingly good to this day while the bleak landscape of the internment camp gave the film an atmosphere of desolation and isolation. Finally, the soundtrack by John Williams is first rate and complements the action on screen well.

One of Steven Spielberg’s most underrated film, Empire of the Sun is a film of great beauty, power and sadness.

A-

Notes: 153 min