90. Empire of the Sun

Empire of the Sun (1987)
Directed by Steven Spielberg

The first Steven Spielberg film to make the list is also my favorite film when it comes to the loss of childhood and the loss of innocence. While the movie as a whole has some serious flaws, Empire of the Sun contains some of Spielberg’s best moments. Its an emotional film; one that often brings tears to my eyes and requires me to spend some serious time reflecting on the events of the film.

Empire of the Sun follows young Englishman Jim Graham (Christian Bale) as he is estranged from his wealthy family when the Japanese invaded Shanghai, China the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked. After surviving on the streets of Shanghai for a couple of days, Jim finds himself trying to survive and adjust to life in a Japanese concentration camp.


What makes this interesting story even better is Spielberg’s decision to keep the film in Jim’s perspective. By telling the story completely through a child’s perspective, Spielberg is able to bypass a more pessimistic or cynical view that an adult may have. Instead the concentration camp is a place of awe, when the Japanese planes fly in to the nearby Japanese airbase. It’s a place of ingenuity, when Jim begins to use his smarts to trade for items that he wants. It’s also a place where he witnesses sex, death, betrayal, and even an atom bomb for the first time.

While it would be hard to point out the moment where Jim ‘loses’ his childhood, there is an undeniably cumulative effect to the story that Jim’s loss is indisputable by the end. I am literally at a lost to describe the effect the film has on me, so I'm going to leave you with these few words.

I’ve posted two clips below, and the first scene shows young Jim singing ‘Suo Gan’. By the end of the film, Jim has learned so much about the world, so much about evil, and survival, that this song that sounds so innocent and sweet has now become ironic. The second clip is from the end of the film and it might be a little spoilerish, so if you plan on watching the film, then I would stay away from it. It depicts the grown up Jim wonderfully and always evokes a reaction from me. I’ll end with the translation of ‘Suo Gan’, the celtic song that Jim sings in the first clip and is replayed in the second one. Notice how these words are lovely as a lullaby, but as one begins to learn the ways of the world, they become ironic and a milestone of times gone by.

Sleep my baby, at my breast,
’Tis a mother’s arms round you.
Make yourself a snug, warm nest.
Feel my love forever new.
Harm will not meet you in sleep,
Hurt will always pass you by.
Child beloved, always you’ll keep,
In sleep gentle, mother’s breast nigh.
Sleep in peace tonight, sleep,
O sleep gently, what a sight.
A smile I see in slumber deep,
What visions make your face bright?
Are the angels above smiling,
At you in your peaceful rest?
Are you beaming back while in
Peaceful slumber on mother’s breast?
Do not fear the sound, it’s a breeze
Brushing leaves against the door.
Do not dread the murmuring seas,
Lonely waves washing the shore.
Sleep child mine, there’s nothing here,
While in slumber at my breast,
Angels smiling, have no fear,
Holy angels guard your rest.

The Dark Knight Review

Overall Grade: A

It has been some time since I've walked out of a theater with a mix of depression, hope, exhaustion, admiration, and trepidation. Let me get this out of the way now, in my estimation, The Dark Knight is the best Super-Hero film of all-time. The experience of watching the film is something similar to allowing your emotions to run a marathon. Its a breathtaking and brutal affair, and I can't wait to do it again.

What The Dark Knight's director Christopher Nolan has accomplished is remarkable. Not only has The Dark Knight surpassed its genre mates, it has obliterated them. There are all the hallmarks of the superhero comic book genre here, but what Nolan provides us with, elevates the film into an epic crime saga between Greek Gods, where everything has implications not only for our characters but for humanity as well. The ideas of a costumed crusader and a villain with a flair for theatricality is squeezed for everything its worth. From these ideas spring a deep pool of themes ranging from what a hero really is, hope vs. despair, anarchy vs. civilization, and the basic goodness of humanity. We've left the simplicities of "I don't want to make weapons that harm our own soldiers" that we saw with Iron Man, and "With great powers comes great responsibilities" that we got with Spider-Man, and entered into a brave new world (not of the Aldous Huxley type).

Its as if the entire genre has come of age in one film. Nolan has given us a movie thats as dark as Zodiac, as nihilistic as No Country for Old Men, as dualistic as Heat, as noble as The Untouchables, as heroic and action-packed as Superman, Die Hard, The Bourne Supremacy, and as good hearted as The Lord of the Rings. One of the movie's tag lines is "Welcome to a World Without Limits", and it seems Nolan has taken that to heart.

I won't detail the plot here (its epic and its twisty), but I do want to take a moment from praising the film as a whole, to praising the film's individual ingredients, as they are all exemplary. The director and his brother Christopher Nolan co-wrote the screenplay and much props has to go to them. This is as layered a screenplay as I've seen since No Country for Old Men or Munich. Its equal parts engaging crime saga, as it is philosophical and symbolic. Its also the first adult, intelligent, and fair-handed dissection of the issues America deals with in a post 9/11 world. When Heath Ledger's Joker says to Batman, "You've changed things, there's no going back", its clear that there is more going on to this story than meets the eye.

Even though the film is a Batman film, it really is an ensemble piece. All the actors are given meaty parts, purposeful roles, and excellent lines. Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal (a welcome change from Katie Holmes), and Christian Bale all do exemplary work here. The real standout is Heath Ledger. What can be said? Ledger's Joker is spectacular. He is more than a villain, more than a nemesis for Batman to fight, Ledger embodies a Joker that in the end comes to represent chaos himself. While remaining completely human, Ledger transcends his character to create something of an archetype, a symbol of evil; much similar to the way Bale's Batman embodies Good in the end. Whether or not its nominated for any awards is outside the point, this role will be remembered for a long time to come. Its simply iconic.

I haven't mentioned the action yet, have I? Suffice to say, the film has some great action sequences that truly define grandiosity. I liked the sequences here a lot more than those found in Batman Begins because I felt like they served the story better as well as were just put together better. They are intelligent and smart, as well as pulse-pounding and fun. The technical aspects of the film are all top-notch. A special shout out to the score (Joker's theme is a revelation) and the cinematography, both are exquisite. The film has some minor flaws that I noticed, but they are easily forgivable flaws, and ones that never hurt the story or the central themes behind it.

Easily the best film of the year so far (will anything top it?). Blockbusters of this kind are the rarest of finds. Most of the time we are stuck with films that shoot for the usual and make it (Iron Man) or films that try to be ambitiously different and miss it (Hancock). The Dark Knight is that rare blockbuster film that dares to reach for the moon, and actually achieves it.