Spielberg's Baby

Rating: 10/10 (30 August 1999)

If The Doors was Oliver Stone's baby, then Empire of the Sun is Spielberg's. This is his signature piece, if not his masterpiece: from the airplanes to the rolling dolly shots to the film stock quality, Empire of the Sun reflects all that is great about Spielberg's craftsmanship as a film maker without the bombast and over-sentimentality. The scale of the film is enormous, the production values incomparable. You can feel that no effort was spared to recreate the world recorded in J.G. Ballard's novel--from the crowds of Shanghai to the concentration camps, the Kafkaesque compound of confiscated goods in a vast open field in China, parachutes containing rations dropping from the sky: every scene is perfectly realized. Even Kubrick could not have done better. The atomic bomb blast sequence is hauntingly realistic and ominous. Who can forget that scene when Jim tries to retrieve his glider and sees a line of Japanese aviators on a hill in the distance, taking up the entire movie frame? The lighting of the sky, the ominous mood--pure cinematic genius. This is also one of Spielberg's most subtle films in terms of characterization--Christian Bale is superb as is John Malkevich--both convey how individuals cope with the horrors of war with acceptance and pragmatism. I have to say that this film is superior to both Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List as an organic work of art, as well an archetypal story for all nations. I am not a big fan of Spielberg, but Empire of the Sun gets my vote as his masterpiece.