Last Emperor is a First Rate Film

The Last Emperor

The winner of nine academy awards including best picture (1987), this is a huge beautiful colorful production filmed on location that shows the last gasp of China's royal family before the boxer rebellion and communist revolutions transformed the ancient culture and political way of life. This movie begins with the birth of the new Emperor and builds to a climactic scene that has become somewhat of an icon in film visuals with the toddler Emperor surveying hundreds of prostrate subjects from atop the steps of his compound in the Forbidden City. The camera’s eye alternates from the toddler Emperor’s point of view revealing flashes of images from beneath a waving gold fabric and a wide shot showing the small child delighted by the fabric peek-a-boo experience and the colors and majesty that surrounds him. From this moment we see that this is a very special individual with a very special life experience ahead.

The primary characters are the young Chinese Emperor “Henry” Pu Yi performed masterfully by John Lone and his new English tutor Mr. Johnston whose performance by Peter O’Toole was sadly under recognized. It is the desire of the Emperor to learn the ways of the outside world and to become a modern ruler. The tutor eventually teaches him not only about the world but also about life and personal relationships. The first half of the movie follows the Emperor's development from about age 3 to his mid twenties. The political consequences of the time find the Emperor realizing his ambition to leave the Forbidden City when he is ultimately evicted from his palace and the only life he knows. He is exiled and set up as a puppet ruler in the Chinese Province of Manchuria, which is his ancestral home. This arrangement is made possible through a political alliance with the Japanese government and the direct assistance of the Japanese Emperor in particular. The motive of the Japanese is to use this alliance to overthrow the Chinese government then in power. This strategy is ultimately unsuccessful and the former Chinese Emperor is captured and interred in a communist re-education camp. Here he spends many years until it is determined that he is sufficiently rehabilitated and indoctrinated after which time he is released to live out his life to about age sixty as a humble member of the mass society.

This story is based on historical fact. There is an opportunity in the second half of the movie to gain some insight into the philosophical aspects of Chinese Communism and to better understand the historic sequences which led to modern day China as we know it.
The action in the first half of the movie is centered in and around the Forbidden City. This is the enclave of the Emperor and his entourage and as the name implies, is off limits to the general populace. We learn as the story unfolds that the Forbidden City is as much a royal prison to those on the inside as it is a symbol of divine power to those on the outside. We are surprised when we see, as the Emperor does for the first time the immediate outside surroundings of the great walled city. The drab colors and poor appearance of the people are in stark contrast to the rich colors and opulence of the interior world. There is also a scene in Manchuria where the Emperor accepts his new position as the head of state of the Chinese community in exile. Here we see him "free" and outdoors with an expanse of land behind him. This of course is in contrast to the here-to-fore experience of the confines of the Forbidden City. This new freedom brings with it the irony of a new kind of political confinement. Director Bernardo Bertolucci handles the colors and images in this film with great artistry for which he was rewarded with an Oscar.

This story movie is interesting to compare to Doctor Zhivago as they both deal with the historic rise of communist states. The legacy of the Chinese people is similar to the Russian's in as much as they both have experienced countless years of oppressive rulers which has resulted in an underlying depressive aspect to the society's collective identity. Beside the obvious subtext of the transition from a decadent monarchy to a Communist form of government that both movies share, the message in The Last Emperor is not unlike Doctor Zhivago whereby outside circumstances conspire to overwhelm an individual's own plans for himself in spite of his best intentions. This theme is perhaps intensified against the political backdrop of Communism. Likewise both movies have themes of perseverance and the ability of the individual to adapt to even the most extreme circumstances. In this case psychological torment and the "fall" from the loftiest role in society to the most humble. In both Zhivago and The Last Emporer, there is a feeling of an opportunity lost. We can't help wondering "what might have been." At the end of both, there is a gentle feeling of hope. The central characters apparently succumb to the inevitable pressures exerted on them by their society but they have free souls. They have the memory of powerful life experiences that cannot be taken away from them and the implication is that their story will survive them. In this way both movies suggest that the spirit might be bent but not really broken and that underneath the bleak cloak of Communism or in a bigger sense oppression of any kind lurks a rich and colorful life waiting to be reawakened.

This is a very, very good movie which should be seen. It is a Best Picture Winner with very good visuals and very good performances. Anyone interested in history,biography, China or travel in general will probably enjoy this movie as well as anyone interested in human struggle and the ability of individuals to adapt and survive. I give this four eyeball on my four eyeball scale because this is a movie you will be happy to see more than once and the visuals are a treat for your eyes.