I remember as a kid going to the cinema with my father. We were going to watch Inner Space but they had sold out of tickets. They said they still had tickets for Empire of the Sun. My dad was keen to watch it but I wasn’t too keen to watch a WW2 movie. However I relented and we watched Empire of the Sun. At the end of the movie I was nearly in tears and realised I had watched the best movie of my childhood. Even today (now 44) after all these years it is still one of my favorite movies of all time.
Spielberg showed his genius in casting Christian Bale in the part and in every single frame of this film. The close-up of Jim's eyes, looking dead and sad shows the toll of the war and his ordeal and how they are no longer the eyes of an innocent little boy. Not a single word of dialogue was necessary. Genius.
If you look close in Jim's eyes at the end just before he closes them, it seems as if Spielberg is trying to capture a reflection of a white flag/fabric of some sort....as in an image of complete surrender, whatever one thinks that surrender might consist of. His imagery in this film is brilliant throughout!
Jeff Foster In an earlier scene, after the American P40s flew over, Jim starts crying and telling the doctor that he can't remember what his mother looks like, he can only remember her lipstick. That's why he touches her lips here. 😢😢😢
The Love of a mother is truly unmatched. His father walked right by him, not to say that his father doesn't love him, but a mother knows her child under any circumstance. A mothers love. This movie is an underrated classic.
Three billion dead because of, "women's health," 90% of men who are in prison have no fathers. No, my friend we are dealing with generation(s) if women who are demonic. Why? Freudian pecker envy, they want to be men.
30 years later....still hard to watch this final scene without losing it. One of the most overlooked classic movies of my lifetime. Ive never been a big Christian Bale fan, but this movie should go down as one of the greatest child actor roles in history.
How numb he looks even just standing there, in the crowd, and his eyes - just empty from the pain&horrors he saw too early. Glad that Bale won Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor award from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, because he was simply brilliant as he always is. He should get an Oscar nomination too. What an actor, really !
yeah, for me too this was an Oscar performance, but still every award, recognition is important. As for Oscars, in the end it was an american movie by Spielberg, so Christian could have been nominated or not? Maybe in those times no, nowadays it would be a different story, I think they changed the rules.
+Russel Conor what rules? The Academy (Oscars) is composed of actors from all over the world and they vote for performances from all over the world regardless. The only exception is the movie nominations where non English speaking movies have their own category. The very first male actor Oscar was a German actor Emil Jennings for heaven's sake. Lawrence Olivier, British, won in the 1940s.
From the moment the mother recognizes her son to the moment he closes his eyes, this scene is absolutely wonderful and satisfying. Nothing is said, but everything is said. The choral music sends it over the top. After watching it, I'm glad to be alive.
I mean, the fact that even the mothers had to pause and wonder which of those children was theirs... that says it all. And it's a chilling callback to when Jim tearfully confesses that he doesn't remember what his mother looks like.
This movie is the last film I bought as a Xmas present for my father before he passed away. When I asked what he wanted for Xmas he said Empire of the Sun before I even finished the question. He was fourteen years old at the end of WWII and this movie was a sock in the emotional guts and the music was a huge part of who he was and my love of music is how I honor his memory and the love of a father for his children. I miss him so much. I love you Dad
@@yellowpete79 I rarely post a comment, but in this case I will. You are a jerk. Nothing funny, clever or insightful about what you said. Edit Spelling
Indeed. Because we’ve lived in relative peace and prosperity for so long, Westerners tend to forget that the thin veneer of civilisation - which we daily take for granted - is not what ensures our security, but that it is our relative security and stability, in actual fact, that guarantees our civility. War reveals the limits to civilisation - and with it, civilised behaviour amongst fellow citizens - faster than any other set of circumstances, including the death and disease caused by pestilence and privation. I think the hopeful thing about the film (and also the book it’s based upon) is that, even amidst all the inhumanity unleashed by war, somehow Jim was able to retain that last little something of his own humanity. Others did as well, both inside the camp and outwith, but the story is really about Jim’s coming of age at the worst possible time to be a child. I don’t know about you, but going through these experiences would certainly have made me appreciate the finer things in life post-war had he been me.
Twenty years ago today, I was released from kidnap by the guerrilla in Colombia. I walked out of the jungle, took a canoe, a stolen jeep and dropped in a church. The service stopped , everyone looked at me and the priest said "We have been waiting for you".
@Andrew Meek I was cryinggggg when he loses his mom and stands ontop of the car and reaches his arms out and is like "MOOOOOOOMMMMMYYYYYY!" I can't.....
This scene made me, as a teenage boy cry, and I felt silly as hell for it, but it was a formative experience, to be touched by such a powerful scene and I knew I too had a mother who would've spotted me though changed so. I'll see her again, at the end of this battle called life and she will recognise me, and I will thank her for the million things she did for me. If you're blessed with a good parent, Love them while they're here and thank the Lord who gave you to them.
Christian Bale delivered the best ever performance by a child in the history of film. When I saw this movie, I knew great things were in store for him.
Even after almost 10 years, watching this scene makes me cry. Such a powerful scene. Could feel the pain he has gone through. Bale is such an incredible actor regardless his age, he deserved many awards for this. This movie is very underrated and best of all the Spielberg works.
Had my grandmother been born five years earlier, this could easily have been her story. Luckily, we dropped the bomb, and my great grandfather got to devote himself to raising a family. Jacob Riley, may you rest in peace. Your country salutes you,sir.
@@Addwater4444 I read some critics and what I see is that many people hate Christian Bale character in this movie, because they say it's a detestable upper class kid, another thing is that they say that the concentration camp is too light, like Disney World, they would have considered a much better movie if it was more similar to Schindler List who is a more dark movie, Empire of the sun is a movie for all public, I've even read that the soundtrack is horrible, lol, imagine that!
@@alfredodistefanolaulhe2212 no way?? Oh that is so wrong for the soundtrack! For the prisonner camp, it did seem a little light but I figured it was more of a retention camp than à prisoner camp. But I have to admit, I had to watch it a few times before I found it really good. There are some movie like that, like Kill Bill or Usual Suspects or even some Spiekberg movies that you have to watch a couple times before it sort of grows on you. Oh well, thanks for your answer!
I love this scene. The anguish and relief Jim shows when he looks at his mother just tears me apart. His slow touching of her face, hair, lips...such a touching, heart-rendering moment!
This part always gets me: 1:25 a mother instantly recognizing her child despite years apart and his being irrevocably changed in both appearance and personality. Sometimes Spielberg can lean too much into schmaltzy sentimentality, but not here. This is one of his best emotional scenes.
Notice, too, how his father explicitly doesn’t recognise him and just walks right by him? It’s a subtle detail, but I like to think this shows how much the war has changed Jim: he’s no longer the mischievous little boy of his father’s memory, but a haunted shell of a young man only recognised by his mother in profile as one might recognise a silhouette. Cinematically, it’s brutal and it’s beautiful; I also recommend the book it’s based upon, which is also deeply haunting.
When Spielberg is in a serious mood, he can be brutally blunt with his films. Case in point: this one, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, The Color Purple, Munich (not my favorite Spielberg movie, but it does have its stand-out moments), Lincoln,…
No, incorrect. She does not find him by recognising him at all, she senses him. Watch more carefully - she stops and begins to turn to him before she even sees him.
The song is a traditional Welsh lullaby called Suo Gân, which is about a mother's love for her child. The song appears at both the beginning and end of the film.
This movie was so heartbreaking, the earlier scene when the Americans are bombing the camp and Jim ( Jamie) was so excited and cheering, when the doctor told him to stop thinking so much, Jim 's reply was " I don't remember what my parents look like" , that broke my heart, this is one of Spielberg's best...
@@willynillylive it is, I read the book after the movie was released, imagine being a child during the Japanese invasion, separated from your parents and having to use your wits to survive every day...
One of the most beautiful scenes in cinematic history. Jim scarcely daring to believe it’s his mother in front of him.Touching her face to check if she’s real. Realising when he hugs her that he’s not dreaming and closes his eyes. Finally safe and back in the arms of his mum. Absolutely beautiful
I had read the book years before the film was made and couldn't understand how Jamie could forget what his parents looked like. Until I saw the film. Very few films based on 'the book' draw me in so completely as did Empire of the Sun. During the Mustang raid on the camp Jamie told the doctor he couldn't remember what his parents looked like and during the reunion scene at end of the film I honestly couldn't remember what his parents looked like either.
***** As you said, it must have been hell for the kids placed in such a hostile environment and the book as well as the film portray that extremely well. Have you seen the film or read the book? If not, I suggest you read the book first and then watch the film.
Oh, that sequence. First, Bale saluting the kamikazes, then the Callidac of the Skies sequence and when he is rescued the anguish of not remembering his parents. At this my eyes are full of mist.
As a kid, I used to go to summer camps. And reaching 2 weeks, I couldn't remember what my father's voice was like or his face. I had trouble picturing it correctly
The moment when he closes his eyes is like: "It's okay now, it's okay. It's over. I'm safe." I wish all the best to everyone who is coming back to their family right now.
did anybody get the meaning of him finally closing his eyes at the end....during the movie he never slept . you never see him sleep in the movie..when he holds his mother is when he finally falls asleep
Suo Gan is a lullaby: The English lyrics of part of the first verse are: Through the window, by your cradle Shines a moonbeam, soft and clear Sleep my baby, fear no danger None can harm you, mother's near
+onefugowie Yes! His finally being able to close his eyes, while in the comfort and safety of his mother's arms, makes this scene all the more poignant!
I'm glad that others caught the significance of that too. An incredible performance from Christian Bale. Quite simply the most powerful movie scene I have ever watched. This beats even the ending of Schindler's List.
+sandramwolf I would love to know the exact words to sau gan, not any of these remade lyrics. I want to know the real and exact lyrics...i love this lullaby
Actually, if you notice where the suitcase ends up it probably signifies that it's made it home as well, regardless of the long journey it took. Otherwise a scene where it was stuck in the mud where he threw it in the river would make more sense if it signified he'd left childhood behind
@@therealjackieheezy lol y'all only know him from Batman? You never seen the Machinist or American Psycho? Or even Equilibrium with Taye Diggs? Oh and don't forget Little Women. But yes, he was an awesome and unforgettable Batman!
In Ken Burn's documentary "The War" he interviewed a survivor of of the Manila Internment Camp. By liberation she was, at age 12, 50 lbs in weight, her mother was 7o lbs and could no longer walk, due to giving her half of the 50 grams of daily rice to her daughter and breast feeding her 5 year old son to keep him alive. When the Americans liberated the camp, her mother insisted on putting on the scraps of make up she had hidden so she would look like a lady when she left the camp. The daughter had a difficult time readjusting to the United States and could not relate to others who had not been though what she had. As she put it "We were living on 50 grams of wormy rice a day and they were complaining about getting only a pound each of sugar and coffee a month." Jim, I suspect had similar issues when he repatriated to the UK.
Empire of the Sun is semi-autobiographical - which is why it feels so true - based on author J (James = Jim) G Ballard's life. My father was approximately the same age as Jim only he was a Chinese boy in Shanghai. He used to ride a bike and deliver tailored suits to the foreign quarters where Jim supposedly lives in this film.
How three people can put a thumbs down on the story of a child living through a war in a POW camp and finally finding his mother and father again beats me...
I was 16 years old and working at a movie theater as an usher when this movie first came out. I fell in love with this movie and Christian Bales acting from the moment I saw it, while all my other friends loved "Young Guns". I knew Christian Bale was going to be an incredible actor. Such talent.... One of my all time favorite movies along with Watership down....
The best scene from child actor, the closing of eyes shows how reliving it is for him after all the struggle and hardship he faced. One of the best classical movies from Hollywood.🌿😭
This scene is quite touching. Jim nearly doesn't recognize who his mother is. He touches her fingers. There is a strong contrast of well-being from his parents versus the harsh difficulties experienced by Jim.
This movie was on Sundance Channel the other day. Jim is riding the bike and realized he's surrounded by The United States Army. He gives a can of food he found to an Army Colonel and says "I surrender". The haunted look on his face
Have never forgotten this scene. They are the eyes of an old man. I even thought somehow his eyes had been replaced with those of the adult writer who lived through this story, J.G. Ballard. Bale is in virtually every scene, the entire film is seen thru his eyes, the most remarkable sustained performance by a child actor I had ever seen and one of the finest in film history. Very under-rated Spielberg film. And John Williams' music...oh my. Goosebumps. So moving. No child should have to live thru such things. His boyish enthusiasm and excitement at the Japanese plane flying so low and fast, he can't help but cheer the human ingenuity of sleekness and speed and engineering and then...the awe-ful beauty of the atomic blast before he knows that the world has forever changed. No wonder Ballard wrote such dark, dystopian sci-fi.
I can’t believe how under appreciated this movie is. So many powerful scenes...including this one, which might be one of the most powerful in all of cinema
Saw this movie when it was released in theaters back in 1987 and this scene made me break down in tears. I was maybe a couple of years older than Jim's age when I saw it, and it really resonated with me. Still does to this day. This movie is such an underrated and lesser known masterpieces of Spielberg.
It’s a Spielberg trait. If you think about his filmography, there’s usually a distant father or a father with little to no relationship with their children. Sometimes they want to be better dads and sometimes they don’t. Examples: the dad from ‘E.T.’ Brody from ‘Jaws’, Roy from ‘Close Encounters’, Ted from ‘War Horse’, Avner from ‘Munich’, Henry Sr. from ‘The Last Crusade’, and several others. This was because Spielberg always had a rough relationship with his father after his parents divorced when he was 13.
@Raven Spielberg has always placed himself as the child in his films, therefore he should not identify as the father. I know he’s a great dad, but Spielberg himself says that he’s like a child when he watches a movie, as well as directing. He shows what it’s like growing up and a displays child’s imagination and wonder beautifully, and he places it in characters like Jamie and Elliott. Also, another reason this is, is that we he wants to show the power of a mother’s love for the child.
@Raven I see what you mean, but I am not sure if fathers and fathers to be would take inspiration from characters like Roy and Brody since those are extreme circumstances for normal life. This Spielberg trait has changed in recent years though. Such as Lincoln and Avner who thirst to be good fathers while also taking on separate responsibilities, even though their thoughts dwell on their children. Or Grant in ‘Jurassic Park’, a character who loathed children but until he actually spent time with some he grew as a father figure and was perhaps ready to be one. Spielberg’s goal is to tell stories, I’m sure he means no harm in impacting the way a father may treat his children.
@Raven I couldn’t agree more. The greatness of Spielberg is his focus to tell a story and other directors to simply create art. Today, it is almost all violent superhero, horror, or shoot em up movies that are only made because they know they’ll bring in money. Hopefully, cinematic lovers like the ones watching this video can see that and get inspiration from the films of Spielberg and other filmmakers to do prosperous things in life rather than an attraction to violence that most films today portray.
The best part for me was when he's in the war camp and they were being attacked, he was all giddy and yelling and seemingly losing his mind. The moment he calmed down he said "I can't remember what my parents look like."
I lost weight. 1. My grandparents didn't recognise me at their surprise wedding anniversary reunion. 2. 2 years later I lost a *lot* of weight and Mum came to visit my brother and me in Mexico, she walked straight past me, didn't recognise me at all.
What you see here, in Bale's character, is a bewilderment, and eventual realization, that the perfection and security he had lost and never thought he could re-obtain, had, in fact, after all the horror he'd seen, come back to him.
the best part of this is Jim saying prior ' i forgotten what my mother looks like' and by the time you get to this point in the movie you actually have forgotten what is mother looks like.
It's not a feminist thing. It is something human beings have always known -- mothers carry their children in their bodies for nine months, give birth (which is a powerful bonding process), nurse them, hold them for hours, nurse wounds, teach speaking and walking...mothers have an incredibly close spiritual and physical bond with their children. Yes, of course fathers have a bond also, but it is different and not as bonded physically as the mother is to her child. Human mothers still always smell their children when they embrace them. This is left over from millions of years ago -- animal mothers smell their children all the time as a way to identify them and bond with them. Human mothers still do the same reflexively, without knowing that they are doing it. It is one aspect of this powerful bond.
Then why do so many mothers kill their children before they're even born? 6 million a year in the U.S. alone. So much for the fantasy of universal "mother love."
I lost rights to my stepson after my divorce...I raised him for his first three years, then his mom took him from me so she could live with her bf. Her son forgot all about me....and this scene brings me to tears every time cause I'd give anything to hold my son again, and for him to remember me. 😔
The first 3 years are the most important years in early childhood. I am sure something of this time will stay with your stepson for his lifetime. It often brings memories back later in life when we grow older. Nothing good is ever lost. Love to you.
Being a stepparent is a lose lose experience, at least for me it was. You put in the mileage but the journey hits a dead end. It must be my fault but I still don't know where it went wrong.
I still tear up when I see this scene. Jamie went from being a spoiled rich brat to a humble and broken little boy who lost everything, even in a way his own identity. To see him reunite with this mom though is one of the best scenes I'll ever watch on film.
When I first saw this movie (early '90's I think) the scene where parents and child get separated was absolutely terrifying, being a father two young children 7 and 11. But this final scene where they reunite is so powerful. When he closes his eyes he has final release, rest and a sense of home again. As a Christian, I am so looking forward to when I finally close my eyes and go to my real home - with the eternal Father for eternity.
Rich Rochester I'm 28 and I saw this when I was a kid. It traumatized me!!! I remember being mad at the kid for letting go of his mom's hand to get his airplane.
Amen brother! Again, as I watch the movie over and over...even this scene, I am just amazed at Spielberg's brilliance in imagery throughout the film. One of those imagery themes seems to be surrender........when Jamie falls before the Japanese soldiers at the start, to the surrender to the American commander at the end, to what appears to be a reflection of a white flag in his eyes at the very end in his mothers arms. Brilliant work!
I Agree! Life is very hard. I used to be afraid of death but i have live long enough to know that when it comes, i will be released from this earth into the arms of God! Rest will come.
Don't get your hopes up. The idea that dead Christians automatically go to heaven to live with God forever (doing who knows what) is not only NOT supported in Scripture, but an affront to the billions of people throughout history who have lived outside of the "Christian World" and who, by your belief, are excluded from this fantasy destiny .
1:24 I’m a 27 year old guy. My dad showed me this movie years ago and honestly I cry every time I see this film and especially this scene. Imagine how Jim was, being separated years away from his parents and being traumatized from war that he had difficulty recognizing them at first. I tear up every time. 😢
I dont know why, but I remembered watching this movie back in high school in 1996 and I remembered this scene. even now, in 2022, it really hit home the separation between mother and son, and dad to an extent. But yes, mom's eyes instantly finding her son.
Dr. Rawlins: No, it’s their runway, Jim! Try not to think so much. Try not to think so much! Jim (suddenly crying): I can’t remember what my parents look like.
The earlier scene where he says he can't remember what his parents look like sets this scene up perfectly. All he can remember is her nail, lipstick and hair color was! Weird things that a young kid would remember.
It's in the song, Suo Gan that one finds the deeper relevance to this absolutely heart-rending scene. "Suo Gan," translated from the Welsh: Sleep my baby on my bosom Warm and cosy will it prove Round thee mother's arms are folding In her heart a mother's love There shall no-one come to harm thee Naught shall ever break thy rest Sleep, my darling babe, in quiet Sleep on mother's gentle breast Christian Bale is a true gem of a performer. I was a boy of about his age when this movie came out and I found myself lost and hollowed by movie's end. Steven Spielberg's genius cultivated the budding of Bale's own. One of my all-time most favorite films. Such a beautiful, woesome thing cut through and gilded with sparkling moments of triumph. A true anthem to the human spirit.
At age 13, Christian Bale already had the acting range of Hollywood actors four times his age. This is one of the very few movies that leaves me in tears. He got the nuances of a traumatized child down perfectly. There are those who've watched him in other films as an adult - including Christopher Nolan's BATMAN trilogy - and say that he can't act. Are you kidding me? Watch this movie and tell me this man cannot act.
I think it's deeper than that.......Spielberg used it as a symbol of dying to the world it seems.....just as the opening scene of the caskets in the bay represented physical death. I think this suitcase scene represents an emotional one as well.
This film made me cry my father in law was a Japanese POW from Singapore but he survived until he was 80yrs but had soo many things wrong, his hatred of the japanese stayed till the day he passed away.
This is one of the most amazing beautiful movies ever made. When I was a child maybe 10 years old I went to the theater to see this and when Jim and his mother connect I broke down. I'll never forget that feeling I had. It was sadness and joy at the same time. Only two movies ever made me cry. This and batteries not included.
This scence really makes me cry. Maybe because I can relate to it. When I was a child a volcano had a massive eruption in our country. Our town was severely destroyed. I had to be separated from my mom and dad. I stayed with my relatives for a year far from my immediate family. Although I was treated really well, as a child I always dreamed to be reunited with my family. After a year, when our town was already recovering from the disaster, I am finally reunited with my parents.
i just love this film the ending is so beautiful when jamies mam sees him after the war is over .jamie looks like an American pilot his mammy still remembered him as a schoolboy ..a great ending
We are singing this song for my choir concert and I absolutely love it! It's so emotional and makes me think of peace and calm. The feeling of being safe, being home
Empire of the Sun is an overlooked gem by Spielberg and a very young Christian Bale. It holds up and has terrific emotional impact even after all these years. Time flies but the acting and direction are timeless
I see so many comments saying that Jamie's parents should have embraced him more vigorously, but people are forgetting it was a different time then. When analyzing historical past events, we can not view or critique them through a modern-day lens. We have to keep the correct context in mind.
+Stokedhavok You are so right that it was a different time and that we should not judge motives and actions through later-day lenses. My father loved me very deeply, and I loved him the same. He was born in 1918, his father abandoned his mother, he experienced the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, then was an infantry company commander in New Guinea and the Philippines. Embracing was sort of a feminine thing reserved for girls and women. We were men and men must be strong (agree or not, such was simply the way it often was). Dad and I always shook hands--he taught me to shake hands firmly and to look people in the eye, even as a kid. There was such mutual respect between us, even as I carried the tradition and became an infantry officer, myself. I watch this scene from the film, and I see my wonderful parents.
But, it's also about Not startling him or being to forceful so he doesn't frighten and he does look stunned. They are just being cautious for his sake.
I just sort of stumbled onto this film.Channel surfing,and this caught my attention.I was riveted through til the end.He looks like the ghost of a young boy,hollow-eyed,colorless,been through so much that he doesn't realize it's his mother in front of him.Christian Bale is a tremendous talent,and this film deserved far,far more recognition and acclaim than it received.Grabs you by the emotions,I'm choked up and teary-eyed.
I remember as a kid going to the cinema with my father. We were going to watch Inner Space but they had sold out of tickets. They said they still had tickets for Empire of the Sun. My dad was keen to watch it but I wasn’t too keen to watch a WW2 movie. However I relented and we watched Empire of the Sun. At the end of the movie I was nearly in tears and realised I had watched the best movie of my childhood. Even today (now 44) after all these years it is still one of my favorite movies of all time.
You had class even back then.
Definitely better than Inner Space
My friends and I would watch it multiple times in the summers. Loved it.
Nowadays your Dad would be called out as being toxic....
Yesthis movies is the best of Spielberg
Spielberg showed his genius in casting Christian Bale in the part and in every single frame of this film. The close-up of Jim's eyes, looking dead and sad shows the toll of the war and his ordeal and how they are no longer the eyes of an innocent little boy. Not a single word of dialogue was necessary. Genius.
garylibra Very well put!
Exactly.
If you look close in Jim's eyes at the end just before he closes them, it seems as if Spielberg is trying to capture a reflection of a white flag/fabric of some sort....as in an image of complete surrender, whatever one thinks that surrender might consist of. His imagery in this film is brilliant throughout!
Jeff Foster In an earlier scene, after the American P40s flew over, Jim starts crying and telling the doctor that he can't remember what his mother looks like, he can only remember her lipstick. That's why he touches her lips here. 😢😢😢
Exactly.
Everything is here, in Bale's eyes. No word is needed.
Spielberg and Bale are genius!
The Love of a mother is truly unmatched. His father walked right by him, not to say that his father doesn't love him, but a mother knows her child under any circumstance. A mothers love.
This movie is an underrated classic.
Three billion dead because of, "women's health," 90% of men who are in prison have no fathers. No, my friend we are dealing with generation(s) if women who are demonic. Why? Freudian pecker envy, they want to be men.
Not all Mothers, unfortunately.
30 years later....still hard to watch this final scene without losing it. One of the most overlooked classic movies of my lifetime.
Ive never been a big Christian Bale fan, but this movie should go down as one of the greatest child actor roles in history.
RYNO LASCAVIO Christian killed this role. Greatest child acting performance I've ever seen! Absolutely brilliant
I does, doesn't it??? I think it's well known and appreciated, at least when it comes to child roles...
One of the best child actors ever, and also today one of the greatest living actors.
RYNO LASCAVIO agreed
super agree
How numb he looks even just standing there, in the crowd, and his eyes - just empty from the pain&horrors he saw too early. Glad that Bale won Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor award from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, because he was simply brilliant as he always is. He should get an Oscar nomination too. What an actor, really !
Russel Conor imo That award was anni nsult to an oscar winning performance. But then being nonAmerican, he wouldn't get that award would he
yeah, for me too this was an Oscar performance, but still every award, recognition is important. As for Oscars, in the end it was an american movie by Spielberg, so Christian could have been nominated or not? Maybe in those times no, nowadays it would be a different story, I think they changed the rules.
+Russel Conor what rules? The Academy (Oscars) is composed of actors from all over the world and they vote for performances from all over the world regardless. The only exception is the movie nominations where non English speaking movies have their own category. The very first male actor Oscar was a German actor Emil Jennings for heaven's sake. Lawrence Olivier, British, won in the 1940s.
Early, like theirs ever a time to see the shit he saw.
He also got to meet the Queen after this. Such an honor for him.
From the moment the mother recognizes her son to the moment he closes his eyes, this scene is absolutely wonderful and satisfying. Nothing is said, but everything is said. The choral music sends it over the top. After watching it, I'm glad to be alive.
He closes his eyes - he is done witnessing, he is home.
I was so mad they did'nt find him sooner.
@@EmmelineSama Well, the War did kind of get in the way.
As pessoas só fecham os olhos quando se sentem seguros.
Está cena é poderosa ! Amo muito.
@@EmmelineSamathere wouldn’t have been a movie if they had found him sooner
A mother always knows her baby. This scene makes me sob no matter how many times I have seen it.
I mean, the fact that even the mothers had to pause and wonder which of those children was theirs... that says it all. And it's a chilling callback to when Jim tearfully confesses that he doesn't remember what his mother looks like.
This movie is the last film I bought as a Xmas present for my father before he passed away. When I asked what he wanted for Xmas he said Empire of the Sun before I even finished the question. He was fourteen years old at the end of WWII and this movie was a sock in the emotional guts and the music was a huge part of who he was and my love of music is how I honor his memory and the love of a father for his children. I miss him so much. I love you Dad
He can't reply in a youtube comments section.
@@yellowpete79 but douchebags can...
Beautifully written , as music , and films , bring back such fond memories , David .
What lovely memories you have of your father.
@@yellowpete79 I rarely post a comment, but in this case I will. You are a jerk. Nothing funny, clever or insightful about what you said.
Edit Spelling
After all these years, I still tear up at this scene. From child. To man. Back to child. Now he can sleep in peace. Spielberg at his best, here.
Well said.
I agree with the first part, but after all he saw during that time, I doubt he will ever he able to sleep in peace again🥹💔
“ I learned that people will do anything for a potato”.
One of the most powerful lines in cinema history.
Indeed. Because we’ve lived in relative peace and prosperity for so long, Westerners tend to forget that the thin veneer of civilisation - which we daily take for granted - is not what ensures our security, but that it is our relative security and stability, in actual fact, that guarantees our civility. War reveals the limits to civilisation - and with it, civilised behaviour amongst fellow citizens - faster than any other set of circumstances, including the death and disease caused by pestilence and privation. I think the hopeful thing about the film (and also the book it’s based upon) is that, even amidst all the inhumanity unleashed by war, somehow Jim was able to retain that last little something of his own humanity. Others did as well, both inside the camp and outwith, but the story is really about Jim’s coming of age at the worst possible time to be a child. I don’t know about you, but going through these experiences would certainly have made me appreciate the finer things in life post-war had he been me.
Irish
@@feliscorax, well said .
Twenty years ago today, I was released from kidnap by the guerrilla in Colombia. I walked out of the jungle, took a canoe, a stolen jeep and dropped in a church. The service stopped , everyone looked at me and the priest said "We have been waiting for you".
They don't make movies like this anymore... :( Such a powerful scene.
Makes me miss my mom: (
Whach Jojo Rabbit
@Andrew Meek I was cryinggggg when he loses his mom and stands ontop of the car and reaches his arms out and is like "MOOOOOOOMMMMMYYYYYY!" I can't.....
Isn't that the truth.
Spielberg certainly doesn't! Just saw the trailer for his recent rehash of West Side Story and it was by the numbers remake with a touch of 'woke'.
This scene made me, as a teenage boy cry, and I felt silly as hell for it, but it was a formative experience, to be touched by such a powerful scene and I knew I too had a mother who would've spotted me though changed so. I'll see her again, at the end of this battle called life and she will recognise me, and I will thank her for the million things she did for me. If you're blessed with a good parent, Love them while they're here and thank the Lord who gave you to them.
Thank you for that reminder. My Mom's 93.
Thank you
Well said!
You brought me to tears too.
Well written 👏
Christian Bale delivered the best ever performance by a child in the history of film. When I saw this movie, I knew great things were in store for him.
Even after almost 10 years, watching this scene makes me cry. Such a powerful scene. Could feel the pain he has gone through. Bale is such an incredible actor regardless his age, he deserved many awards for this. This movie is very underrated and best of all the Spielberg works.
in the Pantheon of Speilberg's ouevre...
Totally agree! It touches your very soul
Had my grandmother been born five years earlier, this could easily have been her story. Luckily, we dropped the bomb, and my great grandfather got to devote himself to raising a family. Jacob Riley, may you rest in peace. Your country salutes you,sir.
A vastly underrated movie. This scene should be considered one of the classics in Hollywood history. So overlooked.
I agree, many people hate this movie, they are idiots.
yes, such an underrrated movie, I wonder why?
@@Addwater4444 I read some critics and what I see is that many people hate Christian Bale character in this movie, because they say it's a detestable upper class kid, another thing is that they say that the concentration camp is too light, like Disney World, they would have considered a much better movie if it was more similar to Schindler List who is a more dark movie, Empire of the sun is a movie for all public, I've even read that the soundtrack is horrible, lol, imagine that!
@@alfredodistefanolaulhe2212 no way?? Oh that is so wrong for the soundtrack! For the prisonner camp, it did seem a little light but I figured it was more of a retention camp than à prisoner camp. But I have to admit, I had to watch it a few times before I found it really good. There are some movie like that, like Kill Bill or Usual Suspects or even some Spiekberg movies that you have to watch a couple times before it sort of grows on you. Oh well, thanks for your answer!
I love this scene. The anguish and relief Jim shows when he looks at his mother just tears me apart. His slow touching of her face, hair, lips...such a touching, heart-rendering moment!
He had the eyes of an old man when hugging his mother
The war
I think he went barmy.
This part always gets me: 1:25 a mother instantly recognizing her child despite years apart and his being irrevocably changed in both appearance and personality. Sometimes Spielberg can lean too much into schmaltzy sentimentality, but not here. This is one of his best emotional scenes.
Note that his mother recognizes him in profile, something you don't lose very fast.
Notice, too, how his father explicitly doesn’t recognise him and just walks right by him? It’s a subtle detail, but I like to think this shows how much the war has changed Jim: he’s no longer the mischievous little boy of his father’s memory, but a haunted shell of a young man only recognised by his mother in profile as one might recognise a silhouette. Cinematically, it’s brutal and it’s beautiful; I also recommend the book it’s based upon, which is also deeply haunting.
When Spielberg is in a serious mood, he can be brutally blunt with his films. Case in point: this one, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, The Color Purple, Munich (not my favorite Spielberg movie, but it does have its stand-out moments), Lincoln,…
No, incorrect. She does not find him by recognising him at all, she senses him. Watch more carefully - she stops and begins to turn to him before she even sees him.
The song is a traditional Welsh lullaby called Suo Gân, which is about a mother's love for her child. The song appears at both the beginning and end of the film.
Also when Jim sees the kamikaze pilots.
It's the boy's character who is singing. If I remember correctly that's his solo in the choir scene at the beginning.
@@alshipley8503 There is a beautiful English version sung by The Vienna Boys Choir.
@@sandemike It's also sung in "The Pembrokeshire Coastal Path Murders" that was on last week. I thought I remembered the song from somewhere.
I love it. So sad
No matter how many times i watch this scene i always end up crying.
Don't worry it always happens to me as well.
Me too😢❤❤
me too-i just watched it for the first time-last night-may 14-2020
Me too!! I believe that the whole scene is heartbreaking 😢😢
Me also. Wiping them now
I've watched this film dozens of times and still weep at this closing scene. Brilliant directing, brilliant acting.
Me too
Hello Barbara, how are you doing?
This movie was so heartbreaking, the earlier scene when the Americans are bombing the camp and Jim ( Jamie) was so excited and cheering, when the doctor told him to stop thinking so much, Jim 's reply was " I don't remember what my parents look like" , that broke my heart, this is one of Spielberg's best...
It's based on a true story
@@willynillylive it is, I read the book after the movie was released, imagine being a child during the Japanese invasion, separated from your parents and having to use your wits to survive every day...
Always makes me cry knowing it was real
As soon as Jim closes his eyes, he finally stops thinking and finds peace.
Fantastic statement
One of the most beautiful scenes in cinematic history. Jim scarcely daring to believe it’s his mother in front of him.Touching her face to check if she’s real. Realising when he hugs her that he’s not dreaming and closes his eyes. Finally safe and back in the arms of his mum. Absolutely beautiful
I had read the book years before the film was made and couldn't understand how Jamie could forget what his parents looked like. Until I saw the film. Very few films based on 'the book' draw me in so completely as did Empire of the Sun. During the Mustang raid on the camp Jamie told the doctor he couldn't remember what his parents looked like and during the reunion scene at end of the film I honestly couldn't remember what his parents looked like either.
***** the war lasted 4 years !
This is like...gods, hell for a kid alone. This was a messed up period...
***** As you said, it must have been hell for the kids placed in such a hostile environment and the book as well as the film portray that extremely well. Have you seen the film or read the book? If not, I suggest you read the book first and then watch the film.
*****
I found the film to be quite accurate to the book.
I have read it.
Oh, that sequence. First, Bale saluting the kamikazes, then the Callidac of the Skies sequence and when he is rescued the anguish of not remembering his parents. At this my eyes are full of mist.
As a kid, I used to go to summer camps. And reaching 2 weeks, I couldn't remember what my father's voice was like or his face. I had trouble picturing it correctly
This scene makes me cry every time I see it.
Even without watching the rest of the film this scene must bring a lump to the throat of a lot of people
It does..
the best movie
Anyone who watches this scene & claims not to be touched by it, is, imo either a heartless bastard..........OR A LIAR
+liam whitcombe no my I like this movie
The moment when he closes his eyes is like: "It's okay now, it's okay. It's over. I'm safe." I wish all the best to everyone who is coming back to their family right now.
He may have found home, but his experiences and memories will stay with him forever.
I just want to go home from the wretched Midlands
With that mom and dad? No way.
@@ericfermin8347 < What ... "no way" ??
R U nut ??
Now he know what a parents
did anybody get the meaning of him finally closing his eyes at the end....during the movie he never slept . you never see him sleep in the movie..when he holds his mother is when he finally falls asleep
Suo Gan is a lullaby: The English lyrics of part of the first verse are:
Through the window, by your cradle
Shines a moonbeam, soft and clear
Sleep my baby, fear no danger
None can harm you, mother's near
+onefugowie Yes! His finally being able to close his eyes, while in the comfort and safety of his mother's arms, makes this scene all the more poignant!
I'm glad that others caught the significance of that too. An incredible performance from Christian Bale. Quite simply the most powerful movie scene I have ever watched. This beats even the ending of Schindler's List.
+sandramwolf I would love to know the exact words to sau gan, not any of these remade lyrics. I want to know the real and exact lyrics...i love this lullaby
Not English, but Welsh, if I'm not mistaken.
I like how the mother knows its him at first sight, even from side view. Maternal instincts right there.
One of Spielberg's best yet totally underrated. Love this movie.
The suitcase is left behind, childhood is parted from.
thank you, was wondering about that symbolism.
Yes. It symbolizes the death of the child, like the coffins floating in the river in the very first scene of the film.
@@pigboy77 among the children who stared war in the face there’s no going back
Actually, if you notice where the suitcase ends up it probably signifies that it's made it home as well, regardless of the long journey it took. Otherwise a scene where it was stuck in the mud where he threw it in the river would make more sense if it signified he'd left childhood behind
What an incredible performance from a young Christian Bale, When I first saw this movie, I just knew he was destined for great performances to come.
Bullshit
I know you ain't talking about batman
@@therealjackieheezy lol y'all only know him from Batman? You never seen the Machinist or American Psycho? Or even Equilibrium with Taye Diggs? Oh and don't forget Little Women. But yes, he was an awesome and unforgettable Batman!
me too
For me , the best film of Steven Spielberg
same!!
Ditto!
Not "the best" (he never ceased getting better since then), but still one of my personal favorites.
Yup, think so, too; his best!
GABEUDEU actually, I Think Schindler's list, is by far the best of Steven Spielberg. This comes very close distance second. At least for me.
In Ken Burn's documentary "The War" he interviewed a survivor of of the Manila Internment Camp. By liberation she was, at age 12, 50 lbs in weight, her mother was 7o lbs and could no longer walk, due to giving her half of the 50 grams of daily rice to her daughter and breast feeding her 5 year old son to keep him alive. When the Americans liberated the camp, her mother insisted on putting on the scraps of make up she had hidden so she would look like a lady when she left the camp. The daughter had a difficult time readjusting to the United States and could not relate to others who had not been though what she had. As she put it "We were living on 50 grams of wormy rice a day and they were complaining about getting only a pound each of sugar and coffee a month." Jim, I suspect had similar issues when he repatriated to the UK.
Empire of the Sun is semi-autobiographical - which is why it feels so true - based on author J (James = Jim) G Ballard's life. My father was approximately the same age as Jim only he was a Chinese boy in Shanghai. He used to ride a bike and deliver tailored suits to the foreign quarters where Jim supposedly lives in this film.
Christian Bale was born to be a great actor. Ever since he was a child. Brilliant...
I so agree.
There it is. The thousand yard stare.
Maybe one of the most powerful scenes ever.
An incredible actor, even when he was that young.
How three people can put a thumbs down on the story of a child living through a war in a POW camp and finally finding his mother and father again beats me...
maybe because its in 240p
mauriciomb55555 HAH this made me laugh.
I'm privileged to have met a Dutch lady who survived such an experience in her childhood.
Yeah, people dislike for other reasons than you’d think at first
the movie is based on the book written by the boy basically it is a true story
I was 16 years old and working at a movie theater as an usher when this movie first came out. I fell in love with this movie and Christian Bales acting from the moment I saw it, while all my other friends loved "Young Guns".
I knew Christian Bale was going to be an incredible actor. Such talent.... One of my all time favorite movies along with Watership down....
A great conclusion to a great movie. Has to be my favorite ending of all time.
The best scene from child actor, the closing of eyes shows how reliving it is for him after all the struggle and hardship he faced. One of the best classical movies from Hollywood.🌿😭
This is one of the most beautiful scenes in all of spielbergs career
This scene is quite touching. Jim nearly doesn't recognize who his mother is. He touches her fingers. There is a strong contrast of well-being from his parents versus the harsh difficulties experienced by Jim.
The most beautiful movie ever made.
I had the honor of meeting christian bale and telling him how great he was in this movie and how special it is.
Oscar worthy performance from Christian Bale...even at that young age he could (maybe should) have been nominated.
This movie was on Sundance Channel the other day.
Jim is riding the bike and realized he's surrounded by The United States Army.
He gives a can of food he found to an Army Colonel and says "I surrender".
The haunted look on his face
I love this scène só much that I can't help but cry every time I watch it
Antonio luiz Garcia sobrinho you're not the only one, I cry every single time I see it. You can't help not to
Me too
You are brazilian(latino) you cry for everything, loser
Patriota Español you obviously are a emotional bigot with no soul
Me too
Have never forgotten this scene. They are the eyes of an old man. I even thought somehow his eyes had been replaced with those of the adult writer who lived through this story, J.G. Ballard. Bale is in virtually every scene, the entire film is seen thru his eyes, the most remarkable sustained performance by a child actor I had ever seen and one of the finest in film history. Very under-rated Spielberg film. And John Williams' music...oh my. Goosebumps. So moving. No child should have to live thru such things. His boyish enthusiasm and excitement at the Japanese plane flying so low and fast, he can't help but cheer the human ingenuity of sleekness and speed and engineering and then...the awe-ful beauty of the atomic blast before he knows that the world has forever changed. No wonder Ballard wrote such dark, dystopian sci-fi.
It was our P-51 Mustang fighter - Cadillac of the Skies! - flying so low and fast.
I can’t believe how under appreciated this movie is. So many powerful scenes...including this one, which might be one of the most powerful in all of cinema
When he closes his eyes... he is finally at peace. Masterpiece.
One of the greatest movie moments I have ever seen. Never realized it was young Christian Bale.
Saw this movie when it was released in theaters back in 1987 and this scene made me break down in tears. I was maybe a couple of years older than Jim's age when I saw it, and it really resonated with me. Still does to this day. This movie is such an underrated and lesser known masterpieces of Spielberg.
Love the detail that the father overlooks his son but a mother would never miss her son from a crowd.
Not necessarily. Fathers affections towards their sons can be really reserved. Especially back in the days.
It’s a Spielberg trait. If you think about his filmography, there’s usually a distant father or a father with little to no relationship with their children. Sometimes they want to be better dads and sometimes they don’t.
Examples: the dad from ‘E.T.’ Brody from ‘Jaws’, Roy from ‘Close Encounters’, Ted from ‘War Horse’, Avner from ‘Munich’, Henry Sr. from ‘The Last Crusade’, and several others.
This was because Spielberg always had a rough relationship with his father after his parents divorced when he was 13.
@Raven Spielberg has always placed himself as the child in his films, therefore he should not identify as the father. I know he’s a great dad, but Spielberg himself says that he’s like a child when he watches a movie, as well as directing. He shows what it’s like growing up and a displays child’s imagination and wonder beautifully, and he places it in characters like Jamie and Elliott. Also, another reason this is, is that we he wants to show the power of a mother’s love for the child.
@Raven I see what you mean, but I am not sure if fathers and fathers to be would take inspiration from characters like Roy and Brody since those are extreme circumstances for normal life. This Spielberg trait has changed in recent years though. Such as Lincoln and Avner who thirst to be good fathers while also taking on separate responsibilities, even though their thoughts dwell on their children. Or Grant in ‘Jurassic Park’, a character who loathed children but until he actually spent time with some he grew as a father figure and was perhaps ready to be one. Spielberg’s goal is to tell stories, I’m sure he means no harm in impacting the way a father may treat his children.
@Raven I couldn’t agree more. The greatness of Spielberg is his focus to tell a story and other directors to simply create art. Today, it is almost all violent superhero, horror, or shoot em up movies that are only made because they know they’ll bring in money. Hopefully, cinematic lovers like the ones watching this video can see that and get inspiration from the films of Spielberg and other filmmakers to do prosperous things in life rather than an attraction to violence that most films today portray.
The best part for me was when he's in the war camp and they were being attacked, he was all giddy and yelling and seemingly losing his mind. The moment he calmed down he said "I can't remember what my parents look like."
I always loved that it was his mother who recognized him first. I don't believe my mum could ever forget my face
A face that only your mother could truly love.
I lost weight. 1. My grandparents didn't recognise me at their surprise wedding anniversary reunion. 2. 2 years later I lost a *lot* of weight and Mum came to visit my brother and me in Mexico, she walked straight past me, didn't recognise me at all.
What you see here, in Bale's character, is a bewilderment, and eventual realization, that the perfection and security he had lost and never thought he could re-obtain, had, in fact, after all the horror he'd seen, come back to him.
Hello how are you doing?
Wow, Christian Bale really nailed this scene.
the best part of this is Jim saying prior ' i forgotten what my mother looks like' and by the time you get to this point in the movie you actually have forgotten what is mother looks like.
Mother will always know how her son or daughter look like after so many years, because it's mother, most important thing in our life
Truth
It's not a feminist thing. It is something human beings have always known -- mothers carry their children in their bodies for nine months, give birth (which is a powerful bonding process), nurse them, hold them for hours, nurse wounds, teach speaking and walking...mothers have an incredibly close spiritual and physical bond with their children. Yes, of course fathers have a bond also, but it is different and not as bonded physically as the mother is to her child. Human mothers still always smell their children when they embrace them. This is left over from millions of years ago -- animal mothers smell their children all the time as a way to identify them and bond with them. Human mothers still do the same reflexively, without knowing that they are doing it. It is one aspect of this powerful bond.
Then why do so many mothers kill their children before they're even born? 6 million a year in the U.S. alone. So much for the fantasy of universal "mother love."
Michael White Because there is a difference between a Human Child and a clump of cells.
Really?...Perhaps your mother should have visited a Planned Parenthood clinic before you were foisted off on the rest of us.
I lost rights to my stepson after my divorce...I raised him for his first three years, then his mom took him from me so she could live with her bf. Her son forgot all about me....and this scene brings me to tears every time cause I'd give anything to hold my son again, and for him to remember me. 😔
It hurt when someone you truely love forgot you.
@@sukanya662 nothing hurts more.
Thats so sad
The first 3 years are the most important years in early childhood. I am sure something of this time will stay with your stepson for his lifetime. It often brings memories back later in life when we grow older. Nothing good is ever lost. Love to you.
Being a stepparent is a lose lose experience, at least for me it was. You put in the mileage but the journey hits a dead end. It must be my fault but I still don't know where it went wrong.
I still tear up when I see this scene. Jamie went from being a spoiled rich brat to a humble and broken little boy who lost everything, even in a way his own identity. To see him reunite with this mom though is one of the best scenes I'll ever watch on film.
I watched this movie for the first time today and it was so amazing. I cried so much at this last part.
I have never seen this film only the end in clips.....
When I first saw this movie (early '90's I think) the scene where parents and child get separated was absolutely terrifying, being a father two young children 7 and 11. But this final scene where they reunite is so powerful. When he closes his eyes he has final release, rest and a sense of home again. As a Christian, I am so looking forward to when I finally close my eyes and go to my real home - with the eternal Father for eternity.
Rich Rochester I'm 28 and I saw this when I was a kid. It traumatized me!!! I remember being mad at the kid for letting go of his mom's hand to get his airplane.
Amen brother! Again, as I watch the movie over and over...even this scene, I am just amazed at Spielberg's brilliance in imagery throughout the film. One of those imagery themes seems to be surrender........when Jamie falls before the Japanese soldiers at the start, to the surrender to the American commander at the end, to what appears to be a reflection of a white flag in his eyes at the very end in his mothers arms. Brilliant work!
I Agree! Life is very hard. I used to be afraid of death but i have live long enough to know that when it comes, i will be released from this earth into the arms of God! Rest will come.
Don't get your hopes up. The idea that dead Christians automatically go to heaven to live with God forever (doing who knows what) is not only NOT supported in Scripture, but an affront to the billions of people throughout history who have lived outside of the "Christian World" and who, by your belief, are excluded from this fantasy destiny
.
Them thinking they are going to heaven has no bearing on you or the billions of non Christians.
Probably the best Spilberg work, emotional ending, you are holding up and it break you here
It's that Welsh lullaby, as soon as they start playing it no matter what scene, the water works starts.
Stunning film, and Christian Bale's performance should have won him an Oscar.
This is the film that has affected me the most.I remember how overwhelmed I felt after seeing this film
Nov 2nd 2018 and this is still a damn good ending , who else agrees?
1:24 I’m a 27 year old guy. My dad showed me this movie years ago and honestly I cry every time I see this film and especially this scene. Imagine how Jim was, being separated years away from his parents and being traumatized from war that he had difficulty recognizing them at first. I tear up every time. 😢
jk22222sd Have you ever seen The Yearling? That's my favorite of all time and you might cry when seeing that one also.
This scene caused my 75 year old dad WWII veteran, at that time, to cry…
Spielberg really showed what he could do with this work.
I dont know why, but I remembered watching this movie back in high school in 1996 and I remembered this scene. even now, in 2022, it really hit home the separation between mother and son, and dad to an extent. But yes, mom's eyes instantly finding her son.
A mother will always know her child .
Dr. Rawlins: No, it’s their runway, Jim! Try not to think so much. Try not to think so much!
Jim (suddenly crying): I can’t remember what my parents look like.
Christian Bale….next to Daniel Day Lewis he is THE Greatest Actor on film currently. Hope he wins an academy award one day soon.
The earlier scene where he says he can't remember what his parents look like sets this scene up perfectly. All he can remember is her nail, lipstick and hair color was! Weird things that a young kid would remember.
It's in the song, Suo Gan that one finds the deeper relevance to this absolutely heart-rending scene.
"Suo Gan," translated from the Welsh:
Sleep my baby on my bosom
Warm and cosy will it prove
Round thee mother's arms are folding
In her heart a mother's love
There shall no-one come to harm thee
Naught shall ever break thy rest
Sleep, my darling babe, in quiet
Sleep on mother's gentle breast
Christian Bale is a true gem of a performer. I was a boy of about his age when this movie came out and I found myself lost and hollowed by movie's end. Steven Spielberg's genius cultivated the budding of Bale's own. One of my all-time most favorite films. Such a beautiful, woesome thing cut through and gilded with sparkling moments of triumph. A true anthem to the human spirit.
my god thats still so touching all these years later and its been a while since iv seen the excellent film, still made me well up
At age 13, Christian Bale already had the acting range of Hollywood actors four times his age. This is one of the very few movies that leaves me in tears. He got the nuances of a traumatized child down perfectly. There are those who've watched him in other films as an adult - including Christopher Nolan's BATMAN trilogy - and say that he can't act. Are you kidding me? Watch this movie and tell me this man cannot act.
The floating suitcase, his lost chilhood.
I think it's deeper than that.......Spielberg used it as a symbol of dying to the world it seems.....just as the opening scene of the caskets in the bay represented physical death. I think this suitcase scene represents an emotional one as well.
Watched this so many times and always makes me cry.
If you are crying for this scene you are showing pure empathy being in his shoes feeling it.If I need a cry I just come back to this every time.
This film made me cry my father in law was a Japanese POW from Singapore but he survived until he was 80yrs but had soo many things wrong, his hatred of the japanese stayed till the day he passed away.
This is one of the most amazing beautiful movies ever made.
When I was a child maybe 10 years old I went to the theater to see this and when Jim and his mother connect I broke down.
I'll never forget that feeling I had.
It was sadness and joy at the same time.
Only two movies ever made me cry.
This and batteries not included.
The single greatest piece of cinema ever filmed.
I don't care how old or how tough you think you are, you will cry watching this scene
This scence really makes me cry. Maybe because I can relate to it. When I was a child a volcano had a massive eruption in our country. Our town was severely destroyed. I had to be separated from my mom and dad. I stayed with my relatives for a year far from my immediate family. Although I was treated really well, as a child I always dreamed to be reunited with my family. After a year, when our town was already recovering from the disaster, I am finally reunited with my parents.
i just love this film the ending is so beautiful when jamies mam sees him after the war is over .jamie looks like an American pilot his mammy still remembered him as a schoolboy ..a great ending
lake fire I luv my mammy
We are singing this song for my choir concert and I absolutely love it! It's so emotional and makes me think of peace and calm. The feeling of being safe, being home
Empire of the Sun is an overlooked gem by Spielberg and a very young Christian Bale. It holds up and has terrific emotional impact even after all these years. Time flies but the acting and direction are timeless
What get's me in this scene still today is the Mum's eyes when she recognises her son.And his, when he hugs her and closes them.Still cry.
I see so many comments saying that Jamie's parents should have embraced him more vigorously, but people are forgetting it was a different time then. When analyzing historical past events, we can not view or critique them through a modern-day lens. We have to keep the correct context in mind.
+Stokedhavok You are so right that it was a different time and that we should not judge motives and actions through later-day lenses. My father loved me very deeply, and I loved him the same. He was born in 1918, his father abandoned his mother, he experienced the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, then was an infantry company commander in New Guinea and the Philippines. Embracing was sort of a feminine thing reserved for girls and women. We were men and men must be strong (agree or not, such was simply the way it often was). Dad and I always shook hands--he taught me to shake hands firmly and to look people in the eye, even as a kid. There was such mutual respect between us, even as I carried the tradition and became an infantry officer, myself. I watch this scene from the film, and I see my wonderful parents.
Odd that one cannot be strong while hugging.
But, it's also about Not startling him or being to forceful so he doesn't frighten and he does look stunned. They are just being cautious for his sake.
If this scene doesn't choke you up... you're not well.
Spielsberg best movie if you ask me, this movie is unreal.
He carried his first big movie at 12. Amazing! Based on a true story, the book is great
One of the greatest endings of any film I have ever seen.
Christian bale was absolutely superb
Christian Bale's performance was outstanding, he deserved an Oscar. The best movie I've seen
Christian Bale, one of the very few actors to successfully transition from youth to adulthood in the business.
I just sort of stumbled onto this film.Channel surfing,and this caught my attention.I was riveted through til the end.He looks like the ghost of a young boy,hollow-eyed,colorless,been through so much that he doesn't realize it's his mother in front of him.Christian Bale is a tremendous talent,and this film deserved far,far more recognition and acclaim than it received.Grabs you by the emotions,I'm choked up and teary-eyed.