Spielberg's magnum opus

Rating: 10/10 (19 August 2015)

I consider this the best Spielberg film and one of the best anti-war films ever, right up there with the likes of Paths of Glory or Thin Red Line. Far from things like Saving Private Ryan or Schindler's List or Munich, where Spielberg tries to shoehorn himself into the persona of the mature and serious filmmaker, Empire of the Sun is as close to his sensibilities as any material could ever hope to be. The telling of the horrors of World War 2 through the eyes of a child has never been done better. I guess if Miyazaki ever made a live action WW-II film, you'd get something similar to Empire of the Sun.
Yep, that's Christian Bale there. Spielberg is well known for ferreting great child performances out of his young stars, but in this case, Christian Bale burns through the screen in his devastating portrayal of young Jim in what is probably the best performance by a child actor ever. During the course of the film, you see Jim going from his pampered existence as the son of a British diplomat in Shanghai through a harrowing physical and emotional transformation, as he loses his family, his home, his childhood and eventually his self. Ending up in a Japanese concentration camp where deprivation and death are on the daily agenda, the young protagonist finds himself desperately clinging to his last remnants of childhood innocence, his love for flight and airplanes or the British culture of a country he hasn't even seen in order to retain some semblance of sanity. I don't believe Bale ever topped this one in his later career.
Right from the first scene, with the boats moving through a harbor crowded with coffins to the final one, with Jim's childhood in the form of a bag floating on the waters, this is classic Spielberg, along with the haunting and poignant Williams score. If there ever was a film to land him Oscar recognition, this should have been it. Despite its rather heavy themes, its is also highly re-watchable. If you love the early Spielberg fare of the 80's but missed this one, check it out, you are in for a treat.