"empire Of The Sun" Starring Christian Bale

Whenever Steven Spielberg and John Williams team up, you can most certainly expect something great, and “Empire of the Sun” is no exception. This film has all the elements it takes to make a great movie: a great director, intriguing story line, superb acting, and a glorious music score.

Based on the autobiographical book by J.G. Ballard, “Empire of the Sun” takes the viewer back to WWII in Shanghai, China. 12 year old Jamie (Christian Bale) is the somewhat spoiled son of British upper-class expatriates who gets separated from his parents when the Japanese enter Shanghai forcing most residents from their homes.

Jamie tries surviving in their abandoned house for awhile, but being used to servants tending to his every need takes its toll on the boy. He is soon wandering the streets looking for food. He even tries to surrender to the ubiquitous Japanese soldiers, but they are merely amused by his feeble attempts. He is soon “befriended” by an older teenage boy who is only intent on acquiring the shoes of the rich English boy.

As he is running through the streets of Shanghai he is almost run over by a truck driven by Basie (John Malkovich). Basie and his friend take the boy home with the intent of exploiting the rich kid. Basie soon takes a liking to the boy and they become fast friends; a friendship that will benefit them both as they are soon captured and must spend the next couple of years in a Japanese POW camp.
Basie is a fast talking American who has spent his time benefiting from the spoils of war. Being in the prison camp does nothing to slow down his endeavors, and he has soon taken young Jamie (whom he calls Jim) under his wings; teaching him the art of exploitation. They are soon running a smuggling ring of contraband inside the prison.

Jamie, an avid airplane aficionado, is enamored by the planes and pilots on the flight line that is situated next to the prison camp. Despite their enemy status, the pilots soon become heroes in James’ mind.

“Empire of the Sun” gives us a completely different view of war as we see it through the eyes of a twelve year old boy. A truly captivating (no pun intended) film with fine performances by all.

By: Christian Jentz

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Christian Jentz is a world traveler who has visited nine countries, and has lived in three. He has been to Europe, North America, and Asia. Through his travels he has developed a love for foreign films. He has written several articles, and contributed to several blogs for BlueCowboyFilms.com . He is multi-lingual. He currently lives in China where he is an English instructor at Datong University.