Empire of the Sun (1987)

 Empire of the Sun (1987)

My thoughts are complicated regarding Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun. It is one of the director’s most ambitious films and it has a strong narrative pull that displays the notions you would come to expect in a Spielberg film; child separated from his parents, child finding hope and magic, etc.). At times, I was drawn away from the film because the kid, named Jim, is a spoiled brat. I gather that was the intention of Spielberg and writer Tom Stoppard, but holy moly that kid was annoying…especially in the beginning. But through the terrors of war, maybe he will learn a lesson or two. With that in mind, the film is beautifully photographed thanks to Allen Daviau’s camerawork. The production design is excellent as I felt the Japanese POW camp felt authentic. As usual, John Williams crafted another beautiful score which is par for a Spielberg movie. Any narrative shortcomings were made up (to a degree) on the technical side of things.

The film was based on the autobiography of J.G. Ballard who had a very similar experience to Jim. Playwright Tom Stoppard adapted the autobiography for the big screen. Before Spielberg came aboard, David Lean was attached to direct with Spielberg onboard to produce. One might remember that Lean, in 1957, directed a famous movie about Japanese POW: The Bridge over River Kwai which happens to be one of Spielberg’s favorite films. Lean ultimately decided to hand over the film to Spielberg because despite his interest in the story, he felt it was more like a diary and Spielberg is more of a suitable director. This is the kind of story that speaks out to Spielberg because of his childhood. The themes of child abandonment and World War II spoke out to him. And by the tiny details and way the story was told, you could tell Spielberg gave his heart to the film. Perhaps too much of it because the film is long and includes too much in my opinion, but the love is there. Speaking of length, this is actually one of the final films to include an intermission. I know, a fun fact!

It is 1941, in the midst of the Sino-Japanese War. The International Community in Shanghai is protected due to diplomacy rights. Jamie Graham otherwise known as Jim (Christian Bale) is a 12-year-old British citizen living the comfortable, wealthy life with his parents. He is also a snobby kid who believes everyone should speak English. He is also an expert on airplanes and could tell you the make and model of the plane just by its silhouette. When the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, life changes for this community. The Western folks are told to evacuate immediately and in the process, young Jim is separated from his folks. He ends up at a Japanese POW camp where he is taken under the wings of Basie (John Malkovich). If the kid wants to survive to the end of the war, he might want an attitude makeover and realize how self-absorbed he was, which may have been a catalyst of the plot.

As an adult actor, Christian Bale is one of the best actors to grace this planet. It is most likely the point of the screenplay, but this particular Bale performance turned me off with his self-absorbed demeanor. Kudos to Bale for embracing a kid whose qualities are the worst. He does have a nice redemption act as the film progresses. I did like John Malkovich’s performance. He was not a father figure for Bale but rather a person who tolerated his presence because he could get away with things in the POW camp because of his age and size. Also, young Ben Stiller! And Joe Pantoliano!

There are some harrowing moments and some moments that legitimately moved me. Even though the Japanese are the enemy, the scene where Bale salutes the Japanese pilot is a powerful scene. Empire of the Sun is one of Spielberg’s more ambitious efforts. He may not have completely succeeded, but he still made a movie that captures most of his qualities and gifts as a director. It is also more of a personal story that spoke out to the director. His vision could have been clearer, and the story could have used less meandering, but I do love the effort. I originally despised Bale’s performance but the more I think about it, the more I believe it is intentional. It is meant to be to show how big of a transformation he underwent. It still took me out of the movie somewhat though. I can recommend the film even if it is just to marvel at the picture’s look and sound.

My Grade: B