Empire of the Sun is based on the childhood experiences of the known English science fiction author JG Ballard. Growing up in China before the Second World War, the young Jamie (Christian Bale) is separated by his parents during the Japanese invasion. Left alone in the streets of Shanghai, he's taken under the protection of an American vagabond, Basie (John Malkovich). As all the remaining foreigners in Shanghai are sent to concentration camps, Jamie and Basie do not escape this fate. This is the story of how Jamie learns to survive under these difficult circumstances and how he is shaped by the experience.
