12 Apr Empire of the Sun
(1987) Empire of the Sun, co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg. is the story of Jamie, a young boy from a wealthy British family living in Shanghai. When the Japanese occupy Shanghai after the attack on Pearl Harbor he is separated from his parents as they flee the city. Finally, Jamie ends up in an internment camp.
The film is based on a 1984 book of the same name by J.G. Ballard. He actually lived a similar experience except that his parents were in the camp with him. That would have made all the difference. The young man he wrote about was wrenched from a privileged life and thrown into one where he had to learn to wheel, deal and survive.
I enjoyed watching Empire of the Sun. It was interesting to see how the family lived in its protected little enclave and how quickly that collapsed when the Japanese moved in. The chaos in the streets was overwhelming, and the worst part was when the little boy (8 or 9 years old) lets go of his mother’s hand to pick up his toy airplane. Then he can see her but she is carried away with the throng of people leaving him terribly alone.
The soundtrack by John Williams helped to make the movie. Some of the sections of the story seemed to drag. In the camp I wasn’t always sure who was who, and I really didn’t care. I just wanted to get to the end of the war. By the time the Japanese surrender, Jamie is almost unrecognizable.
Of course, we never learn how the war years influenced the rest of this little boy’s life. I would like to know from the author who lived it. Perhaps in the book …
Empire of the Sun [Blu-ray] at amazon.com
No Comments