EMPIRE OF THE SUN Movie Review

1987 Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg's adaptation of J.G. Ballard's autobiographical novel suffers two serious flaws. One, it's too long. Two, the protagonist is such a cocky little snot that his perilous straits never generate any real sympathy. The first problem is no surprise; Spielberg's a digressive filmmaker, for better and for worse. The second is unusual, given the idealized children who have appeared in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. The Extraterrestrial, Poltergeist, and so many other films that he has directed and produced. Without discounting those problems, the film also contains some memorable scenes, and its depiction of the Pacific War is strong.

Young Jamie Graham (Christian Bale) is the only child of a wealthy British couple (Emily Richard and Rupert Frazer) in Shanghai. As the film begins, it is late 1941. Japanese troops are massed outside, waiting for news of Pearl Harbor before they occupy the city. Fascinated by aviation, Jamie idolizes the Japanese pilots and keeps a small toy Zero fighter as a talisman. The opening scenes contrasting the expatriate community's affluence with Chinese squalor are obvious but effective. The two worlds collide when the invasion begins. Imperial troops march down streets clogged with panicked masses. In the crush, Jamie is separated from his parents and returns to his abandoned home. After a series of attempts to “surrender,” Jamie finds himself under the none-too-tender protection of Basie (John Malkovich), a Faginesque American ne'er-do-well. Eventually, they find their way to the Soochow Creek Internment Camp, along with several hundred other Westerners.

For a boy, the camp next door to an airfield is a place of picaresque adventure and unforgiving social Darwinism. It's too artily tarted up by the filmmakers to be a believable prison camp, but it is so visually interesting that most viewers probably won't mind. They'll be more put off by the pokey pace. Spielberg often lets the action stop cold to dwell on an especially strong image—a huge poster for Gone with the Wind, the moment when Jamie sees his first real Zero—that means little to the narrative. Other showstopping moments, like the P-51 attack on the field, and Jamie's vision of the end of the war, have an emotional value that equals their striking presentation. Unfortunately, in all of the big moments, John Williams's score is cranked up to an intrusive level. That over-reliance on the music suggests that the filmmakers did not completely trust their characters. In Basie's case, that uncertainty is underlined visually. His face is seldom fully revealed. He hides behind sunglasses and hats.

Throughout the film, Spielberg and writer Tom Stoppard stick strictly to Jamie's adolescent point of view. That's certainly a legitimate approach to the story, one that accentuates the hallucinatory aspects. At the same time, a larger context is lost and, for all the changes he goes through, Jamie simply is not a compelling character. Spielberg's other attempts to deal seriously and lightly with World War II are much more successful.

Cast: Christian Bale (Jamie Graham), John Malkovich (Basie), Miranda Richardson (Mrs. Victor), Nigel Havers (Dr. Rawlins), Joe Pantoliano (Frank Demarest), Leslie Phillips (Maxton), Rupert Frazer (Jamie's Father), Ben Stiller (Dainty), Robert Stephens (Mr. Lockwood), Burt Kwouk (Mr. Chen), Masato Ibu (Sgt. Nagata), Emily Richard (Jamie's Mother), David Neidorf (Tiptree), Ralph Seymour (Cohen), Emma Piper (Amy Matthews), Peter Gale (Mr. Victor), Zhai Nai She (Yang), Guts Ishimatsu (Sgt. Uchida), J.G. Ballard (Costume party guest); Written by: Tom Stoppard, Menno Meyjes; Cinematography by: Allen Daviau; Music by: John Williams. Producer: Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Amblin Entertainment. Awards: National Board of Review Awards '87: Best Director (Spielberg); Nominations: Academy Awards '87: Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Original Score. Budget: 38M. Boxoffice: 22.2M. MPAA Rating: PG. Running Time: 153 minutes. Format: VHS, Beta, LV, 8mm, Letterbox, Closed Caption.