Perplexed

Rating: Null/10 (28 April 1999)

Am I the only person who did not really like this film? Really, what was so great about it? I did not care for Christian Bale's character so it made it really hard for me to care about the movie. I also found the scene where he gets separated from his parents far too unrealistic, in fact preposterous. I have a young child and there is no way I would allow myself to be separated from her as easily as Jim's parents did, especially his father. I would have made some heads roll before I gave up and moved on without my child. The end was so unemotional it was ridiculous. I didn't even get the feeling that his parents really cared that much and they had a very difficult time recognizing their only son. You spend 2 hours watching this young boy grow up in an interment camp without the film ever attempting to show the struggle of his parents to find him. This was a glaring weakness that I just can not look past.
John Malkovich's character reminded me of someone out of the Mad Max movies (go figure) and added nothing. "Empire" never penetrated to the heart of the characters and didn't penetrate my heart either. Where was the storytelling in this film? None of the characters were developed fully to identify with their struggles. Jim did not have enough substance to be the entire focus of the film. Aside from a few good cinematographic moments, this movie was way too long and way to dull. It is different than most movies you will ever see, but that doesn't make it good. I rank this Steven Spielberg film along with Amistad as his worst. Forgive me for giving an honest opinion.