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Spielberg explores World War II through the eyes of a young British boy (Christian Bale) separated from his parents in Shanghai and forced to live in a Japanese internment camp. For a director who often celebrates innocence (and sometimes wallows in it), it's nice to see a darker examination of the subject. In Empire of the Sun, innocence isn't just lost.  It's almost shattered. 

Christian Bale is remarkable as Jim Graham, the alter ego of author J.G. Ballard, whose semi-autobiographical novel is the source material for the movie.  The war thrusts this spoiled little rich kid into poverty, starvation, illness, and into more than one encounter with death.  What I find most interesting about Empire of the Sun is Jim’s tenuous grasp on his childhood.  For a long while in the internment camp, his endless energy and optimism inspires the adults around him.  But his innocence wears thin as the war rages on, giving way to some poignant moments in which you clearly see the boy become a man.

The film gets some of the same criticism that The Color Purple received, namely that it’s too pretty.  I say, bah humbug.  We’re seeing things through Jim’s eyes, and the boy goes so far as to idolize his captors, so I think the visual flair is justified.  John Malkovich and Miranda Richardson are very good in supporting roles, and John Williams’ score packs a powerful punch.