Monday, April 28, 2008

Empire of The Sun

Empire of The Sun is a a fantastic movie about a young British boy, James "Jamie" Graham living in Shanghai, China with his wealthy parents in the 1940s. Throughout this movie Jamie struggles to find his patriotism when Japan invades the country and World War II begins.

James' strife starts when we first meet his character singing in a church choir. Being an English child living in a Chinese world, he seems to be fascinated with Japanese aviation and takes on patriotism in that country. Another example of Jamie's patriotism with Japan is when they invade the country, he tells the troops that he surrenders.

His next form of patriotism comes in when Jamie meets Basie, an American who befriends him.
The two characters develop a relationship and Basie becomes almost like a "father figure" to young James. Their relationship grows even stronger when they are forced to live in a concentration camp, and Basie and the rest of the Americans adopt Jamie into their bunk. From there on he almost adopts the American way, of stealing things for Basie.

Finally, toward the end of the film, when the Americans come over and drop the atomic bomb on the country James starts to find himself. He turns down Basie and the Americans and wanders on his own. The dropping of the atomic bomb is like a wakeup call for James and he realizes how much he misses his parents. Luckily, they come to him in a children's holding place. From the ending, you can tell, his family is all he ever wanted. He finds himself as a British child living in China during the 1940s back where he started.

In conclusion Empire Of The Sun, is an awesome movie that deals with a young British child trying to find his patriotism in China. In the movie, viewers witness the different obstacles Jamie faces to get where he needs to be. You should feel very fortunate to not have to go through a war to be a better person.

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