A Long Watch but worth It

This epic movie is an excellent library choice. With careful attention to fact and a little Hollywood glamour hand in hand with breathtaking views of the Imperial City...this film is a long watch but well worth every minute.

I found it sad that this toddler, taken from his mother and placed on the throne at a mere age three.....grew up to be a product of "royal living" was then an "outcast" of sorts in his latter years. Pu Yi was a product of his enviroment and even though it was a royal upbringing....he literally was thrown from place to place never being in control of his own destiny.

Entertained at every moment, allowed a nursemaid until puberty, then thrown into marriage with not one but two young wives....his mind must have been a whirlwind of confusion.

When he did start understanding his position and the power that came with it....he used it but often, it seems, in ways that an adolescent would react if given a million dollars.
The movie follows his life through the many changes in government, and how he was simply kept around for "looks", his reaction to his wife's loss of a child and subsequent "insanity"....his rise again as a public figure, & another change in government during the World War.
He is imprisoned and shows his immaturity and ignorance when he cannot even "pee" quietly....or tie his own shoes.
Pu Yi died an old man, unknown and a gardener...which is a far cry from the oppulence that he was born to.
This movie is a classic and a must see.