Empire of the Sun

Starring: Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers, Joe Pantoliano, Leslie Phillips, Masato Ibu, Ben Stiller
Directed by: Steve Spielberg
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama, War
1987

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A young English boy (Christian Bale) is separated from his family and fights to survive in a Japanese camp during World War II.

Review:

Tim: It's fascinating to watch Empire of the Sun for the first time over 30 years after it was originally released. I'd known about the film for years and years, but I'd never actually watched it. It feels like it's often overlooked in Steven Spielberg's legendary canon of films. I wouldn't consider this a great film, but it's a thoroughly enjoyable one. It's a film that shows what a talent Spielberg was and it's another indicator that he's one of the greatest directors of all time.

I do want to start by focusing on Christian Bale. I laughed when I saw this film was "Introducing Christian Bale". This might have been an early-career film for him, but it's a stunning example of the unbelievable acting talent he would become. You sit down and watch this film and it's impossible not to be bowled over by the performance of Bale. He's so young, but his talent is immense. He makes this movie. Even with more experienced actors like John Malkovich, Joe Pantoliano, and even Ben Stiller in a small role- Bale outshines them all. His energetic, youthful performance is stunning when he matches that naivety with this world weary quality that was perfect for the part but nearly impossible to find in such young actors. He shows up and gives everything he had to this role and that shows up on screen. I truly believe this is one of the all-time great child actor performances. I think it's a crime that Bale was nominated for an Academy Award, because he deserves it.

Now, don't mistake Bale's brilliance here as a putdown to the rest of the cast. Malkovich adds a solid supporting performance. He's not always a likeable character, but he is a memorable one. It was fun seeing Malkovich interact with Bale. Pantoliano is really good, too. I've always been a fan of his and I lament whatever happened to his career, because he was so good in so many films. I laughed when I recognized Ben Stiller in a small supporting role. He doesn't get much to do, but he was fun to watch. Miranda Richardson was good, too. She doesn't seem to make a big impact at first, but slowly builds up to where her character really does matter. As a while, the cast might not have quite been incredible, but they work. This movie does feel all about Bale's remarkable performance.

I was impressed with the scope of the film, although it's hard to accurately pin down. In some ways, the film feels small- we're laser focused on a few characters and a large chunk of the movie takes place in one setting. However, you get these big cinematic moments- airstrikes, explosions, people running for safety. In those moments, I often marveled at the scope of what Spielberg created. The long run time (2 hours, 33 minutes) also helps the overall scope of the film. It's fascinating to see how he made a film feel small and large at the same time.

As much as I enjoyed Empire of the Sun, I do want to highlight a few flaws. The length of the film is certainly one. As much as it adds to the cinematic scope of the film, the movie occasionally feels bloated. The film needed more editing and to move closer to two hours. I really think that's a big reason this movie isn't more well known or discussed today. It's a really good movie, it's just very long. We do get a huge cast of characters. Some of them felt underdeveloped, especially on the Japanese side. I would have preferred a few characters to get cut so we could spend more time with the right ones. The film hits a few emotional high notes, but there was room for improvement here.

Even though I wouldn't consider this a great movie, it's yet another Spielberg film where you're at least having that conversation. This film is entertaining, enlightening, and memorable. It's a movie well worth tracking down.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



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