Not surprised at Spielberg’s brutality here, necessarily (after all, he is the same man who went on to make the incredibly traumatic War of the Worlds), but by his ambiguity. At first glance he’s trying to have his cake and eat it too by tempering the gauntlet Jim is put through with a sense of adventure and whimsy, but the bombing run on the prison camp was the Rosetta Stone for me*: it’s actually a film about survival through denial. Jim has to contextualize his experiences through the filter of his adventure comics because otherwise he’d be catatonic with fear, grief and guilt. But the darkness is always creeping in. It’s a challenging and brilliant movie and it never gives the viewer easy catharsis. Even the “happy” ending feels more like a funeral than a reunion (hence the final shot).
But it is also an incredibly exciting and fun movie, particularly any time John Malkovich is on-screen. Malkovich’s commitment elevates his character and, often, the film itself, turning simple jokes like “I’d bet my Life on it.” into incredible catharsis. Pretty much my only complaint is that it’s a little long in the tooth. But I can easily see that changing upon a rewatch. A-
*The other key moment for me is when Jim and his parents are driving through downtown Shanghai to go to the party. The scene starts from Jim’s perspective, as the camera floats past well-framed vignettes like the establishing shot of an Indiana Jones movie. Locals bartering, fireworks, exotic wares; the stuff of kids’ adventures. Then the orphan is beaten by a cop and the tone changes as it switches to his dad’s side of the car. Suddenly the camera pulls back and we see the squalor, the grotesque disparity in wealth between the Graham’s and the locals, the bubbling tension. Fantastic moment that sums up the tonal shifts that the rest of the film will play with.
Martha Marcy Nash and Young 