Empire of the Sun
1987 · Directed by Steven Spielberg
Original language: English
- drama
- history
- war
The story
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.
What it’s like
Warm, sun-struck and dreamlike at first, then gradually bleached and hungry: John Williams' score swells with bright, wistful strings over the early Shanghai sequences, while Allen Daviau's camera floats through glowing rooms, sweeping crane shots and long, crowded wides that give war a painterly scale. Gold light gives way to dusty grey and barracks shadow as the prison camp takes hold, and the palette narrows to faded khaki, rain and searchlight white. Spielberg's pacing is expansive and episodic, with lingering moments of boyish wonder (kites, aeroplanes, the drifting wreck of a cathedral of planes) alternating with sudden, unsettling bursts of chaos. Violence is present and occasionally startling: wartime deaths, bloody aftermath and a few scenes of harsh cruelty, though it is rarely lingered on and never gratuitous. The emotional register is bittersweet and sustained, following a resourceful young boy slowly shaping a hard survival into quiet resilience alongside a gruff, unlikely companion. Best for viewers who want a sweeping, humane war story with a coming-of-age heart, watched on a slow weekend afternoon rather than as light background viewing.
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