A young English boy struggles to survive under Japanese occupation of China during World War II.A young English boy struggles to survive under Japanese occupation of China during World War II.A young English boy struggles to survive under Japanese occupation of China during World War II.
- Nominated for 6 Oscars
- 13 wins & 17 nominations total
- See all cast & crew
- Director
- Writers
- Tom Stoppard
- J.G. Ballard
- Menno Meyjes(uncredited)
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaEric Flynn, who plays a British POW, was actually a POW as a child in a Japanese camp.
- GoofsAt the beginning, Jim encounters Japanese soldiers in the city as they are gathered for a meal. They eat dumplings family-style, using long, blunt-ended chopsticks. Japanese people generally use pointed chopsticks. If there is a common bowl of food, Japanese turn their chopsticks around to transfer the food to their own bowl, and then eat with the narrow end.
- Crazy creditsThe film title has the "Sun" lit up by the sun.
- SoundtracksSuo Gan
Performed by The Ambrosian Junior Choir
Arranged and conducted by John McCarthy
Soloist James Rainbird
Featured review
From a Japanese girl
This is the first time I commented on a film. I saw this yesterday night for the first time. And I just cried.
I cried for Jim. I cried for the pain our country caused in the innocent civilians. (Japan can be so stupid!) I cried for the pilots of the Zero-sen.
I've read and seen lots of movies of these pilots. They're called tokoutai in Japanese. They get on their planes knowing they will die. It's a suicide mission, and they were very proud of it. I know if you're on the winning side you may not sympathize these pilots, but they were just fighting for their country. In those days, the emperor was everything. They taught you to die for the emperor at school when you were only in 1st grade.
But I don't know the war. I've never experienced it. I can't understand the concept of dying for your emperor. So I sympathise with Jim. Jim is a symbol. A symbol of innocence, of the horrors of war. His singing proves that too. He's also the ray of light for these prisoners. His energy and vitality are important aspects. It brings out some human characteristics in the sergent as well.
Christian Bale was remarkable. He should be commemorated or something for this performance, cause it was just brilliant. So was John Malcovich.
Overall it was great. One of the best movies I ever saw. It made me think, a lot. About war, about Japan, about history, and about humans in general.
I cried for Jim. I cried for the pain our country caused in the innocent civilians. (Japan can be so stupid!) I cried for the pilots of the Zero-sen.
I've read and seen lots of movies of these pilots. They're called tokoutai in Japanese. They get on their planes knowing they will die. It's a suicide mission, and they were very proud of it. I know if you're on the winning side you may not sympathize these pilots, but they were just fighting for their country. In those days, the emperor was everything. They taught you to die for the emperor at school when you were only in 1st grade.
But I don't know the war. I've never experienced it. I can't understand the concept of dying for your emperor. So I sympathise with Jim. Jim is a symbol. A symbol of innocence, of the horrors of war. His singing proves that too. He's also the ray of light for these prisoners. His energy and vitality are important aspects. It brings out some human characteristics in the sergent as well.
Christian Bale was remarkable. He should be commemorated or something for this performance, cause it was just brilliant. So was John Malcovich.
Overall it was great. One of the best movies I ever saw. It made me think, a lot. About war, about Japan, about history, and about humans in general.
helpful•56829
- Angel326
- Nov 3, 1998
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Cesarstvo sonca
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $35,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $22,238,696
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $1,314,509
- Dec 13, 1987
- Gross worldwide
- $22,239,121
- Runtime2 hours 33 minutes
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content