---
title: "Empire of the Sun"
year: 1987
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/empire-of-the-sun"
fi1m_id: "empire-of-the-sun"
imdb_id: "tt0092965"
tmdb_id: 10110
wikidata_id: "Q271281"
fi1m_score: 81
critics_score: 65
critics_reviews: 12
published: "2026-09-15"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:36.476872+00:00"
region: "PT"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Empire of the Sun (1987)

Directed by Steven Spielberg · 2h 33m · Drama, History, War

## Identity

Empire of the Sun

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/empire-of-the-sun
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** empire-of-the-sun
- **IMDb ID:** tt0092965
- **TMDB ID:** 10110
- **Wikidata ID:** Q271281
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092965/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/10110, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q271281

**Fi1m score: 81** · Critics 65 from 12 reviews

*In a sentence:* The adults have Christian Bale outnumbered, but that is about the only advantage they have

> Steven Spielberg’s war drama is moving and troubling, led by a Christian Bale performance that keeps Jim’s need to survive painfully clear. The grand presentation sometimes softens the horror, and the supporting characters deserve more attention.

## Synopsis

Christian Bale plays Jim, a boy in Shanghai whose life is broken apart by the Second World War. Separated from his family, he is interned and must learn how to survive without the adults he knows. Among the people he encounters is Basie (John Malkovich), who becomes a substitute for the family Jim has lost. Miranda Richardson and Nigel Havers appear as Mrs. Victor and Dr. Rawlins. Steven Spielberg directs Tom Stoppard’s adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s’s novel, following the war through a child’s limited understanding of the people and events around him.

## Review

*Empire of the Sun* is a moving, uneven war drama, worth seeing above all for Christian Bale. Steven Spielberg, directing Tom Stoppard’s adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s’s novel, follows Jim through family separation and internment in Shanghai during the Second World War. He is interested in how a child adjusts to things an adult would know to resist. Bale makes that adjustment convincing enough to justify the film’s grand scale, though not every flourish helps.

Allen Daviau’s cinematography gives the Shanghai sequences a gloss that both helps and troubles the film. The scale of the city and the chaos of separation explain Jim’s helplessness without requiring him to announce it. Norman Reynolds’s production design makes that scale persuasive, though the richness of the surroundings can distract from the boy’s predicament. We were frightened for Jim when he was separated from his family; Spielberg makes being unable to find the people who protect him more immediate than the larger war.

Bale does not ask for sympathy by making Jim agreeable. There is something unnerving about the energy he gives the part, because it makes the boy’s adjustment to captivity seem possible. We can understand why a child might cling to any available adult, while still wanting him to stop accepting so much as normal. That is a difficult feeling for a performance to sustain, and Bale sustains it without making Jim seem implausibly wise about what is happening to him.

John Malkovich’s Basie gives that need for an adult somewhere to go. Jim’s need for a substitute parent gives their scenes an uneasiness that Malkovich handles well. Stoppard’s screenplay is less successful at allowing the surrounding people lives of their own. Miranda Richardson’s Mrs. Victor and Nigel Havers’s Dr. Rawlins belong to a supporting cast the film does not explore enough. The actors provide human company, but too often Jim seems to be the only person whose experience matters.

Michael Kahn’s editing keeps the large-scale sequences intelligible, so the activity around Jim does not overwhelm our sense of his predicament. His work helps Spielberg sustain the child’s viewpoint across a long film. John Williams’s music is more debatable: its encouragement towards heroism sometimes softens the hardship that Bale conveys. A quieter accompaniment would have served those moments better.

As a war film, this gives a narrow account of occupation, and anyone looking for a wider history will find gaps. Most critics disagree with us about how well it works, finding the polish and the heroic touches too reassuring. We think that underestimates Bale’s performance: Jim’s growing ability to cope is troubling because he is still a child. Spielberg does soften some of the material, but the performance keeps the cost of that adjustment visible.

The reservation is that 153 minutes leaves ample room to deepen the people around Jim, and the film does not always use it. Still, anyone interested in war films that stay close to one person’s experience should find enough here to justify the length. Watch it for Bale, with the caveat that Williams sometimes sounds more reassured than we feel.

*Fi1m score 81, published 15 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics come down in favour, and the praise clusters in the same places. The staging of Shanghai under occupation is widely admired, as is the film’s way of telling its story through what a boy sees rather than what he is told. Christian Bale’s performance as Jim is singled out in review after review, often as the thing that holds the film together. Several critics read it as the point where Spielberg turns towards darker material.

The reservations gather around feeling. A recurring complaint is that the supporting characters are thin and the camp scenes softened, leaving the film handsome but distant; Radio Times and Time Out both find it tamer than Ballard’s novel, and Roger Ebert thinks it turns horror into nostalgia. The two negatives, in The New Yorker and the Los Angeles Times, date from the original release and accuse it of manipulation and coldness. The spread is wide, and the later reviews are warmer than the first.

## Straight answers

**Is Empire of the Sun worth watching?**

*Empire of the Sun* is worth watching for Christian Bale's performance as Jim, a boy learning to survive internment in wartime Shanghai, and we scored it 81. Steven Spielberg's polish and John Williams's music sometimes soften the hardship, and the supporting characters are thinly drawn, but Bale keeps the cost of the boy's adjustment visible across 153 minutes.

**How long is Empire of the Sun, and what is it rated?**

*Empire of the Sun* runs 2h 33m. It is a drama and history film.

**Where can I watch Empire of the Sun in Portugal?**

*Empire of the Sun* is available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from €3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Empire of the Sun, and is it suitable for children?**

*Empire of the Sun* carries a PG certificate in the UK and US, and it is a war drama about a child separated from his family and interned, with the fear coming from helplessness rather than graphic violence. We were frightened for Jim during the separation, so younger children may find it distressing; older children and teenagers should manage it.

**How does Empire of the Sun compare to Hope and Glory?**

*Empire of the Sun* is the darker and grander of the two, following a boy's internment in Shanghai, while [*Hope and Glory*](https://film.one/film/hope-and-glory) is a funnier, more affectionate account of a British wartime childhood. Both find a child's excitement at disruption quietly troubling, but *Hope and Glory* has more laughter and warmth, and *Empire of the Sun* the stronger central performance.

**Is Empire of the Sun based on a true story or a book?**

*Empire of the Sun* is based on the novel by J.G. Ballard, adapted for the screen by Tom Stoppard. The film follows the war through a child's limited understanding of the people and events around him, and no knowledge of the book is needed to follow it, though readers may notice the supporting characters get less attention than Jim.

**What should I watch after Empire of the Sun?**

After *Empire of the Sun*, try [*Hope and Glory*](https://film.one/film/hope-and-glory) (1987, Fi1m 82): Childhood curiosity makes wartime danger unsettlingly exciting, with more room for laughter. Then [*The Spirit of the Beehive*](https://film.one/film/the-spirit-of-the-beehive) (1973, Fi1m 87): A child’s private understanding of frightening adults, told with patience and restraint; and [*Grave of the Fireflies*](https://film.one/film/grave-of-the-fireflies) (1988, Fi1m 94): Children face wartime deprivation without the reassuring promise that resourcefulness will suffice.

### Reviews we read (12)

- **Slant Magazine**, Martyn Bamber (90/100, inferred): The film blends Spielberg's escapist and mature sides as a key coming-of-age work for both director and protagonist, with peerless visual storytelling and an ambiguous, unreassuring conclusion. It singles out the child's-eye view of war's horrors and loss of innocence for praise. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/empire-of-the-sun/)
- **The New York Times**, Janet Maslin (90/100, inferred): Maslin praises the film's visual splendor, heroic adventurousness, and immense scope, highlighting its spectacular storytelling and the young lead's performance despite some overly movie-conscious elements. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/09/movies/moviesspecial/09SUN.html)
- **Empire**, Damon Wise (80/100, inferred): The film is one of Spielberg's most fascinating and an important transition to his darker later works, though it does not fully capture the novel's broader themes. It excels in its visual storytelling of a child's loss of innocence and features a strong performance from young Christian Bale. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/empire-essay-empire-sun-review/)
- **The AV Club**, Keith Phipps (70/100, inferred): The film is among Spielberg's darkest and most morally complex, focusing on the death of innocence through a child's separation from family and a surrogate relationship with Malkovich's character. It praises Bale's performance foreshadowing his later career and Stoppard's literate script. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/empire-of-the-sun-dvd-1798197183)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Duane Byrge (70/100, inferred): The critic calls it a wonderful Christmas offering and superbly orchestrated epic visualized with David Lean-like magnitude, praising its optimistic signature through a child's eyes and Bale's stunning performance. Some supporting characters and camp scenes feel thin or sanitized. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/empire-sun-review-1987-movie-1166707/)
- **Variety**, Variety Staff (70/100, inferred): The review highlights Spielberg's sensational staging of Shanghai and the chaos of war, commending young Christian Bale's performance while noting that other characters remain underdeveloped and limit emotional impact. [Read](https://variety.com/1986/film/reviews/empire-of-the-sun-1200427276/)
- **Radio Times**, Joanna Berry (3/5): Spielberg directs a glossy and rather tame adaptation of J.G. Ballard's novel about a boy separated from his family and interned during WWII in Shanghai. It offers heroic moments and war horrors seen through a child's eyes but remains a superficial look at life under occupation despite strong supporting cast. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-qgn6ks/empire-of-the-sun/)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (55/100, inferred): Ebert finds the film narratively interesting with strong staging and performances but criticizes its lack of overall direction and emotional resonance, noting it turns wartime horror into nostalgia. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/empire-of-the-sun-1987)
- **Time Out**, JG (50/100, inferred): Ballard's novel is already a mild version of events witnessed; Spielberg's adaptation is milder still, with a strand of populist heroism that fails to dent the awful message about survival turning people into shits. The budget is evident, though Christian Bale's performance as Jim stands out. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/empire-of-the-sun)
- **The New Yorker**, Pauline Kael (35/100, inferred): The critic finds the film begins majestically with strong visuals of Shanghai but soon falters as Spielberg loses narrative control in favor of showy, manipulative passages. It is ultimately seen as a mix of technical achievement and tastelessness. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1987/12/28/1987-12-28-092-tny-cards-000137010)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Sheila Benson (30/100, inferred): Benson admires the thrillingly staged early sequences and technical craft but faults the film for lacking emotional warmth and fully developed characters to connect with. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-09-ca-18310-story.html)
- **Den of Geek**, Paul Bullock (85/100, inferred): The critic calls Empire of the Sun a magical realist masterpiece that explores the conflicts between fantasy and reality through the experiences of a young boy interned in a WWII prison camp. Spielberg uses recurring motifs like planes and light to show how fantasy both helps and warps the protagonist's understanding of harsh realities, culminating in a wrenching disenchantment. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/spielberg-at-70-indy-et-and-the-1980s/)

## Details

- **Director:** Steven Spielberg
- **Director:** Steven Spielberg
- **Screenplay:** Tom Stoppard
- **Novel:** J.G. Ballard
- **Cinematography:** Allen Daviau
- **Editor:** Michael Kahn
- **Music:** John Williams
- **Production design:** Norman Reynolds
- **Costume design:** Bob Ringwood
- **Producer:** Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Steven Spielberg
- **Cast:** Christian Bale as Jim; John Malkovich as Basie; Miranda Richardson as Mrs. Victor; Nigel Havers as Dr. Rawlins; Joe Pantoliano as Frank Demarest; Leslie Phillips as Maxton; Masatô Ibu as Sgt. Nagata; Emily Richard as Jim's Mother
- **Runtime:** 2h 33m
- **First release (the US):** 8 December 1987
- **Genres:** Drama, History, War
- **Also in:** [Golden Globe Best Drama winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-drama.md) (Nominee, 1987)
- **Budget:** $35 million
- **Box office:** $67 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsU11wxFMbY

## Where to watch in Portugal

- Amazon Prime Video: rent €3.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy €6.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-15.*

Also available in: AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, IE, IN, IT, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 1988: Best Cinematography (nominated); Best Costume Design (nominated); Best Film Editing (nominated); Best Original Score (nominated); Best Production Design (nominated); Best Sound (nominated)
- BAFTA Film Awards 1988: Best Costume Design (nominated); Best Production Design (nominated); Best Cinematography (won); Best Original Music (won); Best Sound (won)

## If you liked this

- *Ivan's Childhood* (1962): Another child at war, with far less comfort in the images.
- *Hope and Glory* (1987), Fi1m 82: Childhood curiosity makes wartime danger unsettlingly exciting, with more room for laughter. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/hope-and-glory.md)
- *The Spirit of the Beehive* (1973), Fi1m 87: A child’s private understanding of frightening adults, told with patience and restraint. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-spirit-of-the-beehive.md)
- *Grave of the Fireflies* (1988), Fi1m 94: Children face wartime deprivation without the reassuring promise that resourcefulness will suffice. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/grave-of-the-fireflies.md)
- *The Quiet Girl* (2022), Fi1m 84: For another young performance that makes adult failures quietly painful to watch. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-quiet-girl.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/empire-of-the-sun