Empire of the Sun

Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together. Even though he is separated from his parents and in a hostile environment, Jamie maintains his dignity and youthful spirit, providing a beacon of hope for the others held captive with him.

Empire of the Sun sits in an awkward middle ground that divided critics even at release: Spielberg's visual ambition and Tom Stoppard's script drew genuine admiration, but several prominent reviewers felt the film could never decide whether it was a child's-eye meditation on war or a Spielberg adventure romp — and suffered badly for trying to be both. Audiences have warmed to it more than contemporaneous critics did, making the gap between popular affection and critical ambivalence part of the film's identity.