Empire of the Sun

Steven Spielberg directs a young Christian Bale in a stunning feature-film debut as Jim, a British expatriate who's separated from his parents when the Japanese army invades Shanghai at the outset of World War II. Eventually interned in a civilian prison camp, Jim hooks up with several American prisoners (led by John Malkovich) and becomes the camp mascot. Elsewhere, war tidings grow ominous for the Japanese.