The Last Emperor
3.5/4
Starring: John Lone, Joan Chen, Ying Ruocheng, Victor Wong, Ric Young, Peter O'Toole
Rated PG-13 (probably for Some Violence and Sexuality, and for Drug Content)
How horrible it must be for someone to go through life without any real control over his or her own destiny. Sure, Puyi "lived" a life of luxury and glamor, but any power he had to make his own decisions was a pipe dream. He was an emperor with all the traditions (not limited to being unable to venture out of the Forbidden City) with none of the power of governance. He was the emperor of Manchukuo, but that just meant he was a poster boy for the Empire of Japan. He had all the duties but none of the rights. Puyi's life was spent waiting for a break that would never come, only to find out just how horrible life can be.
Puyi was a sheltered child. He was forced to abdicate his throne at age three, but he was kept there as the leader by many others in the hopes that Chinese monarchy would return. He didn't see his mother for years, his life was manipulated by the palace officials, and he was forced to enter into an arranged marriage. The guy wasn't even allowed to leave the Forbidden City until his twenties. And you thought your parents were strict. But when he gets to leave, things go from bad to worse.
What is interesting about this film is that Puyi's function in it is completely reactive. Puyi is at the center of a storm of changing worlds, but at no point is he ever in any sort of control. He makes attempts to weather the tides or manipulate them for his own advantage, but such instances are met with failure. He attempts to outsmart and outmaneuver the Japanese by agreeing to be the Emperor of Manchukuo, but the plan backfires horribly. He is a pawn in his own story.
Normally, such a flat character would be disastrous for a film of any kind, much less a sprawling epic like this. I mean, can you imagine William Wallace as an impotent nobody? Or Luke Skywalker? Of course not. But director Bernardo Bertolucci circumnavigates this problem by concentrating on Puyi's personality. He's a spoiled brat, but he tries to keep his head above water the best he can. As anyone would surely do. That's what makes this film work.
The strong performances help a lot. John Lone projects a kind of arrogant vulnerability that is necessary for this film to work. Puyi has the ego of a pampered ruler, but his attempts to reconcile his beliefs about his own infallibility with the reality he lives in are constantly intriguing and make him sympathetic. It's a difficult role, but Lone pulls it off. Joan Chen also does wonders as his wife, whose inability to deal with the swirling changes in her life turn her onto opium. The legendary Peter O'Toole has a small but important role as Puyi's English tutor.
Bertolucci tells this story through visuals. On that level, the film is a bold success. Lensed by the legendary Vittorio Storaro, this film is luscious to look at without ever being ostentatious. If the film was a complete bore, it would still be worth watching just to see the images that they have created. Unfortunately, there's only so much emotion that can be wrung from type of storytelling. The characters are not three-dimensional, and many of the background characters have no development whatsoever. Bertolucci keeps them at an arm's distance. Maybe that's the point, though. Puyi was a cast off from everyone he met, so perhaps the only way to tell this story is to see him in that light.
"The Last Emperor" demands patience. This is a long movie that moves slowly in order to weave its spell. The film also has a stronger start than a finish. The scenes in Manchukuo don't have enough of an explanation of the politics for them to gain any real traction. We care about the characters and that carries us through, but there were definitely times when I was confused.
Still, this is a film that is very much worth making time for.
Starring: John Lone, Joan Chen, Ying Ruocheng, Victor Wong, Ric Young, Peter O'Toole
Rated PG-13 (probably for Some Violence and Sexuality, and for Drug Content)
How horrible it must be for someone to go through life without any real control over his or her own destiny. Sure, Puyi "lived" a life of luxury and glamor, but any power he had to make his own decisions was a pipe dream. He was an emperor with all the traditions (not limited to being unable to venture out of the Forbidden City) with none of the power of governance. He was the emperor of Manchukuo, but that just meant he was a poster boy for the Empire of Japan. He had all the duties but none of the rights. Puyi's life was spent waiting for a break that would never come, only to find out just how horrible life can be.
Puyi was a sheltered child. He was forced to abdicate his throne at age three, but he was kept there as the leader by many others in the hopes that Chinese monarchy would return. He didn't see his mother for years, his life was manipulated by the palace officials, and he was forced to enter into an arranged marriage. The guy wasn't even allowed to leave the Forbidden City until his twenties. And you thought your parents were strict. But when he gets to leave, things go from bad to worse.
What is interesting about this film is that Puyi's function in it is completely reactive. Puyi is at the center of a storm of changing worlds, but at no point is he ever in any sort of control. He makes attempts to weather the tides or manipulate them for his own advantage, but such instances are met with failure. He attempts to outsmart and outmaneuver the Japanese by agreeing to be the Emperor of Manchukuo, but the plan backfires horribly. He is a pawn in his own story.
Normally, such a flat character would be disastrous for a film of any kind, much less a sprawling epic like this. I mean, can you imagine William Wallace as an impotent nobody? Or Luke Skywalker? Of course not. But director Bernardo Bertolucci circumnavigates this problem by concentrating on Puyi's personality. He's a spoiled brat, but he tries to keep his head above water the best he can. As anyone would surely do. That's what makes this film work.
The strong performances help a lot. John Lone projects a kind of arrogant vulnerability that is necessary for this film to work. Puyi has the ego of a pampered ruler, but his attempts to reconcile his beliefs about his own infallibility with the reality he lives in are constantly intriguing and make him sympathetic. It's a difficult role, but Lone pulls it off. Joan Chen also does wonders as his wife, whose inability to deal with the swirling changes in her life turn her onto opium. The legendary Peter O'Toole has a small but important role as Puyi's English tutor.
Bertolucci tells this story through visuals. On that level, the film is a bold success. Lensed by the legendary Vittorio Storaro, this film is luscious to look at without ever being ostentatious. If the film was a complete bore, it would still be worth watching just to see the images that they have created. Unfortunately, there's only so much emotion that can be wrung from type of storytelling. The characters are not three-dimensional, and many of the background characters have no development whatsoever. Bertolucci keeps them at an arm's distance. Maybe that's the point, though. Puyi was a cast off from everyone he met, so perhaps the only way to tell this story is to see him in that light.
"The Last Emperor" demands patience. This is a long movie that moves slowly in order to weave its spell. The film also has a stronger start than a finish. The scenes in Manchukuo don't have enough of an explanation of the politics for them to gain any real traction. We care about the characters and that carries us through, but there were definitely times when I was confused.
Still, this is a film that is very much worth making time for.
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