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Empire of the Sun

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Empire of the Sun

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Summary

Second World War drama based on the novel by JG Ballard, starring Christian Bale and John Malkovich. When the Imperial Japanese army marches into Shanghai in December 1941, the privileged life 11-year-old Jim Graham enjoys with his family in the city's International Settlement comes to an end. In the ensuing turmoil, Jim is separated from his parents.

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Review

A star rating of 3 out of 5.

Joanna Berry

Steven Spielberg directs this glossy and rather tame adaptation of JG Ballard's semi-autobiographical novel. Set during the Second World War, it stars Christian Bale as 11-year-old Jim, who is separated from his family in Shanghai and ends up in a Japanese internment camp. As you'd expect from Spielberg, the film has its fair share of heroic moments and scenes that depict the horror of war through the eyes of a child. But, despite the presence of such talents as John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson and stiff-upper-lip Brit Nigel Havers, this seems a rather superficial look at life under occupation.

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7.7/10

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Credits

Cast

rolenameJim GrahamChristian BaleBasieJohn MalkovichMrs VictorMiranda RichardsonDr RawlinsNigel HaversFrank DemerestJoe PantolianoMaxtonLeslie PhillipsSergeant NagataMasato IbuJim's motherEmily RichardJim's fatherRupert FrazerMr VictorPeter GaleMr LockwoodRobert StephensMr ChenBurt KwoukLt PricePaul McGannDaintyBen Stiller

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Crew

rolenameDirectorSteven Spielberg

Details

Theatrical distributor

P.D.C. Ltd

Released on

1988-03-23

Languages

English | Japanese

Guidance

Contains some violence and swearing.

Available on

video and DVD

Formats

Colour

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