Empire of the Sun is a 1987 American coming of age war film based on J. G. Ballard's semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. Steven Spielberg directed the film, which stars Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, and Nigel Havers. The film tells the story of Jamie "Jim" Graham, a young boy who goes from living in a wealthy British family in Shanghai, to becoming a prisoner of war in Lunghua Civilian Assembly Center, a Japanese internment camp, during World War II.
1941年上海,中國抗日戰爭已經歷時四年,隨著太平洋戰爭的爆發,英美加入戰局,上海外租界的西方人的生活也經歷了巨大的動蕩,11歲的Jamie就是其中之一。在逃難的途中,Jamie和父母走失,他遇到美國人貝希和弗蘭克,差點他們被賣掉,三人輾轉到了閘北集中營。在集中營,Jamie明白了戰爭的殘酷,學會了“為了吃飯什么事都能干”的生存哲學,還認識了和他一樣喜歡飛機的日本小孩。但是,在他內心深處,一直渴望著和父母團聚的一天。