As China underwent economic reform and opened up to the American film industry, Spielberg shot the first American film in Shanghai since the 1930s. Empire of the Sun (1987), an adaptation of J. G. Ballard's autobiographical novel of the same name, starred John Malkovich and a young Christian Bale. The film tells the story of Jamie Graham (Bale), a young boy who goes from living in a wealthy British family in Shanghai, to becoming a prisoner of war in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. Critical consensus was mixed at the time of release; criticism ranged from the "overwrought" plot, to Spielberg's downplaying of "disease and starvation". However, critic Andrew Sarris called it the best film of the year and later included it among the best of the decade. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, but a commercial disappointment at the box office. Ian Alterman of The New York Times thought it was overlooked by audiences; Spielberg recalled that Empire of the Sun was one of his most enjoyable films to make.
