Line #9 YMMV/EmpireOfTheSun


1	!! 1987 Creator/StevenSpielberg film.
2	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Basie - JerkWithAHeartOfGold who did what he had to do to survive, what anyone else might have done to survive, or just a complete {{Jerkass}}?
3	* AwardSnub: It received six UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nominations and lost all of them to ''Film/TheLastEmperor'', marking the only time that a film with more than 5 nominations ended up getting bested by the same film in ''all'' of its categories. Meanwhile, the Academy's continued snubbing of Spielberg meant that it didn't get nominated for Best Picture, Director or Adapted Screenplay. Cinematographer Allen Daviau, who was nominated, publicly complained:
4	-->I can't second-guess the Academy, but I feel very sorry that I get nominations and Steven doesn't. It's his vision that makes it all come together, and if Steven wasn't making these films, none of us would be here.
5	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To8vbhCG2DY The choir scene at the start of the movie.]]
6	* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: Basie deadpans "I bet my Life", referring to his magazine.
7	* HarsherInHindsight: Creator/ChristianBale got his StarMakingRole in his teen debut, playing in a story set during UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar. Many years later, he ended up ''stalling'' his career with the notoriously bad [[BoxOfficeBomb bomb]], ''Film/FlowersOfWar'', also set to the same historical backdrop, instantly killing any momentum his [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Oscar]] from just a year prior gave him.
8	* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyf059psVew Suo Gan]]
9	* JerkassWoobie: Jamie starts as a rather spoiled kid who puts one of his servants through much stress, but quickly loses the jerkass part after he gets separated from his parents and becomes a full-fledged woobie. The servant he stressed out actually ''slaps'' him when he tries to boss her and another servant around when he sees them stealing some furniture after the Japanese take over so as to make it very clear to him that he no longer has any control over her.
10	* MisaimedFandom: The "Cadillac of the sky" scene is widely interpreted as Jim celebrating the Americans' BigDamnHeroes moment, but that couldn't be more wrong -- all Jim cares about is seeing the planes in actions, and being a kid, he has no idea what the war is even about nor does he care. Hell, in the scene just before it, he's saluting the Japanese pilots about to go on a kamikaze mission (and he doesn't understand what's going on then either). Him seeing the "Cadillacs" and being in danger of his life at the same time are contributing pieces to his mental breakdown that he's having when he celebrates the planes showing up.
11	* RetroactiveRecognition:
12	** Creator/BenStiller as one of the American prisoners of war ("Hey kid, want a Hershey bar? Me too"). ''Film/TropicThunder'' was inspired by his experiences watching the other actors on this film go through boot camp until they genuinely believed they were war heroes.
13	** Not to mention Creator/ChristianBale as our KidHero.
14	** A very emaciated Creator/JoePantoliano is Basie's put-upon number two, Frank.
15	** And a young Creator/PaulMcGann in a blink-or-you'll-miss-it part.
16	* {{Squick}}: Jim's attempts at CPR. The first time, he tries to revive a woman and when her eyes move even though she's already dead, he starts trying to pump faster. The second time, he's trying to revive the teen pilot (which obviously won't work because he was shot), which results in [[BloodFromTheMouth blood pooling from his mouth]].
17	* TearJerker:
18	** When Jim tries futilely to revive the kamikaze kid pilot with CPR, at one point, [[BrokenBird he sees himself at the start of the film laying on the ground instead.]]
19	--->''"I can bring everyone back... I can bring everyone back..."''
20	** Mrs. Victor trying to ask Jim where Mr. Victor is during their march to the stadium. Jim doesn't answer.

Context YMMV / EmpireOfTheSun