Beautiful Yet Lacking

Rating: 8/10 (25 September 2012)

Empire of the Sun is a coming of age war film based on J. G. Ballard's novel of the same title. Steven Spielberg directed the film, which stars Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, and Nigel Havers. It tells the story of Jamie "Jim" Graham, a young boy who goes from living in a wealthy British family in Shanghai, to becoming a prisoner of war in Lunghua Civilian Assembly Center, a Japanese internment camp, during World War II.
During the Japanese invasion, Jamie "Jim" Graham is separated from his parents. With the help of soldier-of-fortune Basie,he learns to survive without a retinue of servants at his beck and call. By the time they are tossed into a Japanese prison camp, Jim has picked up enough street- smarts and developed enough intestinal fortitude to regard his imprisonment as an exciting adventure. The story ends during the 1945 liberation: on the verge of manhood, the 13-year-old Jim will never again be the pampered and privileged brat.
The movie is always interesting from a narrative point of view. Spielberg is a good storyteller with a good tale to tell. But it never really adds up to anything as it barely emphasize that remarkable testament to the human spirit.It was beautiful but unfortunately,it was lacking World War II saga about the coming-of-age of Jim Graham.