World War II · Film · 1987
Empire of the Sun
A privileged British boy in Shanghai loses his parents in the chaos of the Japanese takeover and grows up in an internment camp beside an airfield, obsessed with the planes of both sides.
Where it happened
Follow the story across 2 places.
Stop 1: Shanghai International Settlement
As Japanese troops pour into the Settlement, Jamie lets go of his mother's hand in the panicked crowd and is left alone in the city.
Stop 2: Lunghua internment camp and airfield
Key location
Renamed Jim, he runs errands and trades in the camp, befriends a young Japanese pilot through the wire and cheers the American planes that finally arrive.
What really happened
Japan had controlled the Chinese parts of Shanghai since 1937, but the International Settlement stayed neutral until 8 December 1941, when Japanese troops occupied it hours after Pearl Harbor. From early 1943 thousands of Allied civilians in the city were sent to internment camps, including the Lunghua Civilian Assembly Centre on the southern edge of Shanghai.
The film is based on J. G. Ballard's 1984 semi-autobiographical novel. Ballard was interned at Lunghua from 1943 to 1945, but with his parents, not alone as Jim is. Conditions worsened as food ran out in 1945, and American aircraft attacked the neighbouring Lunghua airfield before the Japanese surrender in August.
Where to watch
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Full details
- Original title
- Empire of the Sun
- Directed by
- Steven Spielberg
- Countries
- United States
- Languages
- English, Japanese, Chinese
- Released
- 1987
- Period
- –
- Theaters of war
- China & Southeast Asia
- Themes
- Prisoners of war
