Truly unforgettable

Rating: 10/10 (3 July 2004)

*****POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!!*******
I saw this film when I was 8 and it stayed planted in my brain. A passionate little boy in the middle of a terrible war doing what he can to keep his life and soul intact.
People get sick, disillusioned, but not Jim. He is the heart and soul of the English camp, who by his own words, had become "too lethargic." There is even a scene where, if he lays some traps, is cool enough to move to the American camp. Of course,this consists of baseball, good times, the latest magazine subscriptions, and saluting. Really cool scenes there and not overly done. Watch for a cameo of Ben Stiller saying one of the coolest lines ever, about a Hersheys bar!
Make no mistake, there is a lot of wit and humour in this film. This is especially due to John Malkovich as Basie ( as a street-smart, f-you,i'll-look-out-for-myself attitude) and Joe Pantoliano as Frank,(his secretary/a**kisser). I would say that Basie's role kind of clichés Americans, but he stands alone among them anyways.
Of course, since this is a war film, you will need some tissue, because Steven Spielberg knows how to tell a story. It is so dramatic because of its poignancy. There are scenes that induce tears of sadness, yes. But there are also scenes that induce tears of joy. Like one, involving Jim on the roof, with a B-51 passing by..that's all I'll say. Scenes that come after such a build up of character from Jim, played by Christian Bale, that you know more than information by this scene. By the time this scene rolls around, you *feel everything Jim does. From his love for planes, from his need to be young and free, and to focus on survival instead of tragedy.
I realize a film is supposed to make you feel for the main character, but it is more than that in this film. It's almost as if you are falling in love with this boy. He has the attitude and the cajonas to be the way you'd like to be in a war situation. Spirited, intellectual, healthy. You even hear him recite Latin with Nigel Haver's character in a hospital room with people dying right next to him.
This film brushes a bit with irony, but never makes it too obvious. It is more of a visual beauty, then another cliché thrown at you. The whole idea of rich(mostly English) people living in Shanghai who for generations, had been building an image of their own country. Then all of the sudden, war breaks out and they are trapped. Suddenly they feel just as hopeless as all the struggling lower-class people in China.
Spielberg has taken a beautiful novel by JG Ballard and has added his stylistic and lasting touches. It is a visual feast, the I feel that his best movie is probably Schindlers List, but this is my favourite Spielberg film.