The Last Emperor

Rating

Director

Bernardo Bertolucci

Screenplay

Mark Peploe, Bernardo Bertolucci (Autobiography by Henry Pu-yi)

Length

160 min.

Starring

John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O’Toole, Ying Ruocheng, Victor Wong, Dennis Dun, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Maggie Han, Ric Young, Wu Jun Mei (Vivian Wu), Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa, Richard Vuu, Tijger Tsou, Wu Tao

MPAA Rating

PG-13

Review

Imperial China came to an end in 1912. The Last Emperor explores the life of Pu Yi, the last ruling emperor of China.

Through an exquisite attention to detail, director Bernardo Bertolucci gives life and resonance to the conflicted life of the boy emperor. Ascending to the throne at the young age of 3, Pu Yi lived a life of willful disobedience. As emperor, he could do anything and say anything he wanted without punishment. Thoroughly spoiled, the film follows his rule as he slowly grew up, pausing at ages 8 and 15 before settling into his adult life.

Much of his life is told through flashback as he’s being held for crimes against Communist China. Accused of supporting Japan in the war between the two countries over Manchuria and other Chinese lands, Pu Yi (played in adulthood by John Lone) was held for ten years in a concentration camp where he was expected to admit his involvement and subsequently repent.

The film ignores a great deal of actual history, such as Pu Yi’s association with the Soviet Union and his acceptance of ideals presented in books by Karl Marx and Lenin. What is included, however, is no less significant. Coming to age so young and growing up as a child in an environment without true discipline can generate selfish and impudent children. Forced to remain inside the Forbidden City, Pu Yi sought for a long time to regain the power he had had when he was a child.

China was a different place, though. He was no longer a ruler. He was a figurehead. Not until Communist leader Mao Zedong forced him out of the Forbidden City did he realize how much he was losing. The film follows him into Manchukuo, now known as Manchuria, where, through the support of the Japanese government, he becomes a leader again. Then, just as before, he’s slowly squeezed out of the position and by the time the land is absorbed back into mother China, he is again alone. When captured during his attempts to flee the state, Pu Yi was certain he had lost everything all over again.

While held by the Chinese government, he at first falls into the same trap of his childhood as his cell-mate ties his shoes for him and does all of the chores around the cell because of his respect for the aging emperor. For him, that small dignity was his last remaining link to his life outside. Forced once again from this familiarity and required to perform the most menial tasks, Pu Yi finally comes to understand what it is like to live like the rest of the world and it is that growth that gives him the strength to stand up when the time is right for the only man who cared enough to make and help him stand on his own.

The film is beautiful from start to finish. Whether it’s the glorious warm hues of the Forbidden City or the cold, gray dankness of his prison cell, The Last Emperor is a marvelous picture. The film won every Oscar for which it was nominated, including Best Picture and Director. It was only first film since Gigi in 1958 to accomplish such a feat and its victories were certainly deserved. The only nomination it was denied that should have been granted was one for Lone who does a terrific job conveying the complex depression of the fallen emperor. That he was ignored is more a testament to the Academy’s failures in recognizing foreign actors than it is a rebuke of his abilities.

The Last Emperor gives us a historical perspective while painting a vivid portrait of a man trapped in the life forced upon him. Although he makes nearly every decision in his life, it’s difficult not to see them as predestined. We all seek familiarity in our lives and a sudden change to that can often cause emotional distress. This film captures that struggle and helps us understand that having everything isn’t always the best thing. Having everything would prevent us from learning from our mistakes and stop us from understanding the truth about the consequences of our actions.

Review Written

January 2, 2007