effective and moving

Rating: 8/10 (13 July 2010)

i really enjoyed this Steven Spielberg film,for a couple of reasons.the acting was one of the reasons.a young Christian Bale(around 12 years old at the time,i believe)is stellar.John Malkovich is excellent as well,as is Miranda Richardson.but Ben Stiller was almost unrecognizable in one of his earliest feature film performances.the story centres mostly on Bales character(Jim Graham)as he struggles to survive daily life in the wake of the Japanese occupation of Shanghai during the second World War.as well as the performances,i liked the look of the film.i think the filmmakers painted a vivid portrait of what daily life would have been life in an internment camp during that time,as well as the effect the physical effects the war would have on the landscape.i thought it was all quite effective and moving.for me,Empire of the Sun is an 8/10