Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together. Even though he is separated from his parents and in a hostile environment, Jamie maintains his dignity and youthful spirit, providing a beacon of hope for the others held captive with him.
Empire of the Sun is a visually sumptuous Spielberg production anchored by a remarkable breakthrough performance from a young Christian Bale, whose Jamie Graham is one of cinema's most compelling child protagonists. Janusz Kamiński's predecessor Allen Daviau shoots Shanghai and the Lunghua camp with gorgeous, painterly light that elevates every frame. The plot, drawn faithfully from J.G. Ballard's semi-autobiographical novel, is episodic in structure and occasionally loses momentum in its middle section — the camp sequences, while atmospheric, can feel repetitive. Novelty sits in the middle: it's a WWII coming-of-age story told from an unusual Anglo-child perspective in the Pacific theater, which is distinctive, but Spielberg's epic grammar keeps it within recognizable territory. The ending, while emotionally resonant in its bittersweet reunion, arrives somewhat abruptly and doesn't fully resolve Jamie's psychological transformation, leaving the thematic threads slightly loose.