The End of Empire (Empire of the Sun (DVD))

Member Name: pambo

Product:	Empire of the Sun (DVD)
Date:	28/10/00 (54 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good history

Disadvantages: A bit long (2 1/2 hours)

This overly long but terrific movie tells the story of a privileged young Briton living the good life in Shanghai until the Japanese invasion during World War II. The boy (Christian Bale) ends up separated from his parents, and is shipped to a nighmarish life in a prison camp where he falls in with a seedy American wheeler-dealer (John Malkovich) who preys on the weaker prisoners.

Along the way, the boy Jamie begins to forget who he is, his family and his upbringing. Physically, mentally and morally, the boy deteriorates as he grows older in the camp. He develops an admiration for the Japanese military, fascinated by the power he sees on display. It’s a very disturbing aspect of the overall story, made worse by the fact that people under terrible conditions have, in fact, often sided, at least mentally, with their captors.

Even his attachment to the Japanese military is broken in horrible fashion, as one might expect given the war’s outcome. The scene where he, and dozens of other children, are finally reunited with his parents is heartbreaking as we are reminded of the boy’s lost youth one last time.

This is one of Steven Spielberg’s movies, and a good one. As a Spielberg movie, it has its overblown moments, but nothing outrageous. The soundtrack, by John Williams, is sometimes criticized as just a little too much, but I liked it as we get to hear some soaring music by young male singers caught up in the fade of empire, in this case, two of them.

This is a movie for fans of World War II history or history in general, especially those looking for a slightly different view of the war.

Summary: