EMPIRE OF THE SUN is a gem of movie-making. Visually arresting from start to finish, given a sumptuous musical score by John Williams and some of the finest cinematography ever seen, it is hard to understand why the film is not as highly acclaimed as it ought to be...nor is it fitting that it was nominated for six Academy Awards but received none.
It's a sweeping epic but depends on capturing your interest by giving the main burden to the young Christian Bale who certainly has one of the great child roles of a lifetime as Jim--and becomes the character so completely that his final reunion with his parents brings tears to the eyes. By that time, the viewer has been through so much with him, watching as he grows from spoiled rich kid to a wily boy who must fend for himself among the wolf-pack of prisoners interred by the Japanese.
Basically, it's the real life story of one boy's survival during the outbreak of World War II when he is separated from his British parents during the evacuation of Shanghai. It is a spectacularly staged evacuation scene that is topped throughout by other scenes of visual splendor and poignant moments that stay in the memory long after the film is over. The boy's fascination with the beauty of planes and the horrors of war are well documented--as is his strange fascination with the Japanese and his doomed friendship with a Japanese boy.
The film falls squarely on the shoulders of Christian Bale, so much so that the supporting players are never fully fleshed characters. However, all of them within a limited range--including John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson and Nigel Havers--do magnificent jobs. Steven Spielberg's direction cannot be faulted. He has given us a closeup glimpse of war and its effect on people that can only be rivaled by his later masterwork, SCHINDLER'S LIST.
Technically, the film is a brilliant achievement in all of its World War II details. And Christian Bale certainly deserved an Oscar for what has to be one of the strongest performances ever given by a child actor, with never a false step, every nuance just perfect.
