Review of Empire of the Sun (1987) by Mark K — 02 Sep 2010

I appreciate what Spielberg was doing with this film, and seeing the war through the eyes of Christian Bale is an interesting journey, and one well worth taking. That Bale was able to carry this rather episodic story on the big screen is quite a feat, considering his age at the time the movie was made.

The production values are first rate, and the terrible drudgery of the civilian POWs is perfectly portrayed. The privileged boy has a lot of growing up to do as the film progresses, and it's a little like Lord of the Flies: He starts innocent, is changed by his experience, and once the world goes back to normal, he has a hard time adjusting. The adult characters are not well defined, partly because they are peripheral to Jamie's existence. All except John Malkovich's opportunistic scrounger Basie, who becomes a sort of 'friend' and adult figure for Jamie Graham.

There's some terrific scenes, especially Jim's friendship with the Japanese boy. It's all told pretty much without conversation, and that's the way a lot of the film is done. It's a stunning collection of sights and sounds in Jim's eyes.

If I have any quibbles with the film, they're minor: I didn't like John Malkovich at all as Basie. He was too unlikeable. Somehow, to me, a knave like Basie would have been more charismatic than Malkovich can summon, but that's just my opinion.

The scene with the Mustangs shooting up the airdrome ought to be an emotional climax, and it's an awesome scene, but it didn't quite touch me the way I think Spielberg expected. I guess his character's point-of-view, where adults are mere spectators, worked on me, too. I felt very detached from Jamie at that point, and didn't share his enthusiasm.

Overall, though, it's a great film, and certainly goes down as one of Spielberg's more innovative and daring films.

Recommended.