Empire of the Sun
Release Date: December 9, 1987
Runtime: 152 mins
Nominated for Six Academy Awards including Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, and Best Sound.
Winner of ZERO Academy Awards
Sean here. J. Link viewed Empire of the Sun on her own and her thoughts on the film can be found below. I just wanted to throw in my quick two cents. To me, this is Spielberg's most underrated film and one of his greatest accomplishments. It is ultimately about the death of childhood and this was definitely the film that gave Spielberg the strength to go on and tackle Schindler's List. Empire of the Sun was Christian Bale's first screen performance and it is still his finest. It's a shame that he has an Oscar for The Fighter instead of his superb work here. The climactic images in the film are haunting as we see Spielberg putting the final nails in the coffin of leaving childhood behind. He would try to return to the childhood realm with Hook, but would fail miserably. If you want to see the turning point in Spielberg's career, for better or for worse, look no further than Empire of the Sun.
J. Link's thoughts after the jump...
By J. Link
I’ve always been drawn to coming of age movies. I’m fascinated with the growing up process and how people evolve over time. I’ve had Sean’s copy of Empire of the Sun sitting on my shelf for about a month now and I am kicking myself for waiting so long to watch it. It is the story of Jamie “Jim” Graham (Christian Bale) a naïve, wealthy British boy living with his parents in Shanghai during World War II. His world is turned upside down when he is separated from his parents during the Japanese invasion. He must learn to grow up in prison and internment camps and by the end of the movie has evolved into an independent young man. The movie also features John Malkovich as Basie, an American living in China who is captured by the Japanese along with Jim.
I watched the movie two days ago and I am still replaying it in my head. I am trying to find something that I didn’t like about it and I can’t think of anything….except for the plane exploding but that’s just because I’m terrified of flying. I really tried but I got too caught up in the story. Christian Bale did an outstanding job as Jim. It’s so weird to type that because I’m on the fence when it comes to Christian Bale. There is something about him that just rubs me the wrong way. I didn’t know that this was his first film until I was doing research for this write up. The way he handled the arc of his character is something I was not expecting. I keep forgetting that Spielberg has a knack for getting strong performances out of children. He certainly did get one out of Christian. He did such a good job of capturing Jamie’s naivety at the start of the movie. Here was a kid who lived a very privileged life-he had servants and went to a prep school only to end up as one of the people he used to stare at from his town car. It isn’t until he meets Basie and they end up in a Japanese internment camp that we see Jim start to mature. He becomes an integral part of life in the camp. One of my favorite scenes is when he going from place to place trading different items. He has built a relationship with his fellow campers as well as some Japanese soldiers. It’s a far cry from the Jamie we saw at the beginning of the film. I think the moment that we really see a new Jamie is when he moves into the American dorm. I don’t want to give away what happens for those who have not seen the film but I’m interested to hear if people agree with me. He’s wanted to live in that dorm for so long and he definitely earned his place. It is from that moment on that we see a new Jamie. He has a new kick in his step and has earned the respect of everyone in the camp.
The final scene of the movie had me balling. This kid had been through so much and grew so much that he deserved a happy ending. I would have been so pissed if the movie hadn’t ended the way it did. I won’t give anything away because I urge people to watch this film. I’m really enjoying this retrospective. I am learning so much about filmmaking and what it takes to be a good filmmaker. What about you? What are your favorite Spielberg movies? Did you enjoy Empire of the Sun as much as I did?
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