Spielberg's first WW2 epic demands repeat viewings.
Reflecting his own coming-of-age story, this stately, heroic adaptation of JG Ballard’s childhood memoirs is his most powerful portrait of lost innocence to date.
A 12-year-old Christian Bale delivers a startlingly mature performance as Jim, the ex-pat orphaned by the war and forced to grow up too fast in a Japanese internment camp.
John Williams’ emotional score soars and Allen Daviau’s majestic cinematography is flecked with gold touches of David Lean - who personally handed the project to Spielberg in his final years.
