Review of Empire of the Sun (1987) by Yash S — 05 Jul 2009

Pure storytelling in the classical vein. David Lean meets Frank Capra. This is a film that doesnt go down too well with WW-II enthusiasts, having one too many mawkish Spielberg moments and (so they say) the apparently politically-correct and incomplete-at-best depiction of the Allies and the Japs. And its not a film that will hold up on subsequent viewings (its not really an *intellectual* film). However, the director has perhaps never displayed a better sense of what is visually cinematic. Its *gorgeously* photographed. I think the crowd scenes and the final Mustang raid are unrivalled. Its bewildering to see these kind of pure celluloid images in this day of CGI-is-the-holy-grail-of-film and studio-mandated summer tentpoles. Back in its day this film wasnt really groundbreaking, but today it appears almost revolutionary.

What IS perfect here is a young and delightful Christian Bale. He's artless, natural and spontaneous as only a child can be. And his charcter-arc of *innocence lost and redeemed only to be lost again* is heartbreaking and mesmerising. The child's incandescent spirit permeates everything, and is the one ray of hope in an otherwise bleak and insane world. Worth watching.