Based on the best-selling
semi-autobiography of the same name by James Graham Ballard (he wrote under J. G. Ballard), as James “Jamie” Graham, thirteen-year-old actor,
Christian Bale appears on the screen of EMPIRE OF THE SUN in his knickers and
designated schoolboy blazer and cap, his hectic British cheeks a clue to the
grit that smoldered within the factual character he is playing, a true grit the
equal of John Wayne on his best day. But
to realize it, he has to be tested, and tested he is to the utmost in this
remarkable action-packed, and at the same time, sensitively drawn, epic, an
epic film and an epic book, both of them among my favorites.
For four years
having been engaged in a brutal, but undeclared, defensive action against Japan’s
invasion of its borders, by 1941, the towns and cities of China are falling
like tandem dominoes at the hands of the oppressors. As members of the long-established,
upper-class, British citizens of Shanghai, Jamie and his parents are protected
under the Diplomatic Security of the International Settlement, but as the
incursion by the Japanese mounts, nobody is safe, not even the Westerners
behind their gated checkpoints. On the
same day as Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor, among throngs of the like-minded
of every station of life in the city and surrounding countryside, the little
Graham family tries to escape Shanghai, and during the stampede, Jamie becomes
separated from his parents.
The streets
erupt into a war-zone. While dodging the
bullets of the fighters and defending himself against a bullying Shanghai
street urchin, Jamie is rescued by a wily American merchant-seaman named Basie,
brilliantly portrayed by John Malkovich in the film. Basie declares “Jamie” to be “Jim”
thereafter, and in those short hours of that afternoon, young Jim crosses into
another world, not only physically, but also intellectually and spiritually, as
Basie and his devotees, Jim among them, end up prisoners of war in Lunghua
Civilian Assembly Center, and later in Suzhou Creek, two Japanese internment
camps. It is in the camps that we
witness the transformation of “Jamie” into “Jim” in this outstanding
coming-of-age story. Thirteen-year-old,
Christian Bale as “Jim” is pictured here in the film version of the story. .jpg)
In many guises appear
coming-of-age stories and of this genre, there is another one that is nearer
and dearer to me still. It is a simpler,
yet as dramatic a story, and even though it took place in the same timeframe as
James Graham Ballard’s adventure, it wasn’t carried in the newspapers of its
time, nor to date, on a DVD. But the
story is in a book now—it is in my latest novel, GUARDIANS AND OTHER ANGELS (http://amzn.to/PUOXl9). Bussy Gaffin is the name of the young hero in
my book. He is pictured here with his
dog, Track on what is believed to have been June 16, 1942, his seventeen
birthday.
In the most noteworthy of coming-of-age
stories, a relentless monster, not of his/her own making, is pursuing the
protagonist. In Jim’s case, with the
loss of parents and home, and the dangers, the brutality of war, the monster is
hunger, disease, death, the demise of hope, of compassion, of tenderness and
concurrent humanitarian impulses.
Debilitating illness, worsened by the difficulties and privations of the
Great Depression and the consequences of World War II in the USA, is Bussy’s
cross to bear. But in his own loss of childhood, his monster is similar to
Jim’s, as is his transformation, a conversion portrayed in his quiet courage
and determination to carve a place for himself among his robust siblings and
peers, and in his stoic efforts to embrace the things that give him purpose and
hope. If you are like me, you will fall
in love with both of these inspiring, young heroes.
Take a moment to
think about the young heroes in your life and endorse them in some way by
reading their books, or watching their films, or writing a book about them, or
by giving them a hug or a call, or devoting a few moments of quiet contemplation
to their memories. No matter where they
are, they will get the message.
To view my online art gallery,
log onto gallery-llgreene.com
To read excerpts of my current
and future books, log onto booksbylindaleegreene.gallery-llgreene.com
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