Christian Bale, John Malkovich and the Steven Spielberg film ‘Empire of the Sun’

British, American and other expatriates were in Shanghai, China during the time surrounding the Japanese occupation of the city during the Second Sino-Japanese War. That war lasted longer and occurred at the same time that many in the west understand as World War Two, though the film Empire of the Sun (1987) looks at the period that can be roughly understood as 1941 to 1945.

(Christian Bale as Jamie ‘Jim’ Graham and Takatarô Kataoka as Kamikaze Boy Pilot in the film Empire of the Sun).

The film Empire of the Sun tells the story of spoiled British child Jamie Graham, played by Christian Bale, who starts the film living with his parents in diplomat accommodations in Shanghai prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Jamie has lived an exceptionally privileged life with Chinese servants serving his every wish, having grown up in diplomatic circles in China with an apparent understanding of communicating in both English, the form of Chinese spoken in Shanghai, and Japanese.

(Left to Right, Emily Richard as Mary Graham, Rupert Frazer as John Graham and Christian Bale as Jamie ‘Jim’ Graham in the film Empire of the Sun).

In the chaos following Japan occupying Shanghai and the attack on Pearl Harbor, Jamie is separated from his parents as the occupation begins. Following some desperate actions in the aftermath of that chaos, Jamie becomes entangled in the occupation with American expatriates Frank Demarest and Basie, as portrayed by John Malkovich and Joe Pantoliano.

(John Malkovich as Basie, left, and Joe Pantoliano as Frank Demarest in the film Empire of the Sun).

In creating a trade network within the camp where the prisoners exist, and in coming of age in a fashion that instills hope among the adult prisoners where all are held, Jamie takes the abbreviated name Jim from Basie and Frank. Hope comes in the form of the successes in acquiring street smarts, flat out bravery in pushing boundaries with his captors for his own good as well as the benefit of the prisoners, and the support Jim acquires through the course of the movie’s telling.

(Nigel Havers as Dr. Rawlins, left, and Christian Bale as Jamie ‘Jim’ Graham in the film Empire of the Sun).

While in the camp, Jim also forms a sort of father and son relationship with camp physician and British expatriate Dr. Rawlins, as portrayed by Nigel Havers. The bond formed by the two is palpable and convincing, offering a sweet glimpse into the emotionally possible within the context of the utterly miserable conditions of captivity. It is in part that Jim can maintain an optimism and growth in the face of a military occupation that hope is as strong a message for Empire of the Sun as is captivity.

(Christian Bale and Empire of the Sun director Steven Spielberg on set of the film Empire of the Sun).

The film Empire of the Sun is based on J.G. Ballard‘s autobiographical novel, also named Empire of the Sun. The film ends during the 1945 liberation of the prison camp, with glimpses of the atomic bomb in Nagasaki catching Jim’s attention. The heavy truths are shared in typically tasteful Steven Spielberg fashion, and the story eventually resolves in emotionally compelling fashions on that larger stage as well as on the personal stage of the relationships forged through the film. Empire of the Sun, rather to my unexpected pleasure, works on an emotional level in the storytelling that allows me to give the film 4.00-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Bruce Willis, Richard Gere and the movie ‘The Jackal’

Today we at Matt Lynn Digital choose to review a decent if not great film called The Jackal (1997). Made perhaps a decade later than was appropriate for the look and feel of the film, the story follows a decent Cold War era with little in terms of pretense in trying to capture a nostalgic feel that fans of movies from bygone eras might seek. Despite this, some celluloid heroism was on the menu with The Jackal.

(Bruce Willis as The Jackal in The Jackal).

The movie called The Jackal is a fictionalized account that is inspired by the legend of Carlos the Jackal. This film gets little into the historical figure though seeks to tell a story of the legend with a single statement of crime as the central premise for the film. Bruce Willis stars as the character The Jackal bent upon transacting a crime for hire with infiltration into the actions of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the USA.

(Sidney Poitier as Preston in The Jackal).

Sidney Poitier, as the character Preston, heads an FBI unit tasked with thwarting the criminal enterprise of The Jackal. Preston runs a well run team that uses instinct and judgment in preventing crime. Willing to take risks while also cooperating with foreign intelligence units to prevent the crime to be perpetuated by The Jackal, Preston takes a gamble in seeking the assistance of an imprisoned IRA fighter by the name of Declan Mulqueen.

(Richard Gere as Declan Mulqueen in The Jackal).

Richard Gere is the imprisoned IRA fighter Declan Mulqueen that Preston and the MVD‘s Valentina Koslova, as portrayed by Diane Venora, peg as the support needed to track The Jackal and stop the crime all parties know The Jackal to be plotting while not being clear if The Jackal even exists. A justification for including Mulqueen in the effort to preempt the politically motivated crime is offered in the film.

(Diane Venora as Valentina Koslova in The Jackal).

The rationale that brings about Mulqueen’s support for the preemptive law enforcement effort is that Mulqueen’s primary love interest and would-have-been mother to Mulqueen’s child Isabella, as played by Mathilda May, was purported to have a reliable connection to the Jackal. This cajoled association brings about the movie trope rationale befitting a movie from the 1980s, yet was a narrative device in The Jackal.

The Jackal as a character, meanwhile, has been moving forward with the planning for his criminal enterprise with the acquisition of a high powered repeating rifle, an era appropriate computer and phone system to broach communication and imaging considerations, and thus needed a platform on which to mount the weapon within an era appropriate mini-van. Jack Black as Lamont was that supplier and naive player in the larger narrative of the crime to which the film was building.

(Jack Black as Lamont, left, and Bruce Willis as The Jackal in The Jackal).

FBI agent Witherspoon as played by J.K. Simmons was a member of the team tasked with enforcing the joint FBI/MVD mission to protect people and prevent crime aligned against the efforts being enacted by The Jackal. Witherspoon and MVD operative Valentina Koslova quite possibly share a similar fate in the movie as the effort to prevent crime and thwart the political motivation in play at the hands of The Jackal. Where the movie’s outcome concludes is with a natural confrontation that is required of this type of film, and the tension in how that transpires, in addition to the outcome of the larger crime, were in fact resolved with the film.

(J.K. Simmons as Witherspoon in The Jackal).

There was action, suspense, and turning points of growing tension through The Jackal, so the film worked with regards to including appropriate plot points and narrative structure. The story, despite multiple stars with the chops to carry that story, somewhat disappointed. The feeling of the film, as mentioned, would have been more appropriate given a release date of 1987 rather than 1997. Some of the notions for expressing a more equitable role for ladies in this type of story also were also more contemporary of at least a decade earlier. Given this, and how I felt in response to the film’s resolution, I give The Jackal 3.25-stars on a scale of one-to-five stars.

Matt – Saturday, May 25, 2019