Emperor
Emperor
終戦のエンペラー
Directed by:
Peter WebberCinematography:
Stuart DryburghComposer:
Alex HeffesCast:
Matthew Fox, Tommy Lee Jones, Eriko Hatsune, Masayuki Ibu, Kaori Momoi, Colin Moy, 夏八木勲, Masayoshi Haneda, Gareth Ruck, Yôko Narahashi, Takatarô Kataoka (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
The movie unfolds the story, inspired by true events, of the bold and secret moves that won the peace in the shadows of postwar Japan. The story of Emperor is based on the resonant, real events of 1945, when General MacArthur took control of a shell-shocked Japan on behalf of the U.S and Bonner Fellers worked covertly to investigate the Emperoras fate while the future of the nation hung in the balance. Entwined with an against-the-odds romance, the story traverses the conflicting loyalties between heart and homeland, between revenge and justice, as the world rebuilds from the ruins of war. Matthew Fox joins with Academy AwardA winner Tommy Lee Jones, newcomer Eriko Hatsune and award-winning Japanese star Toshiyuki Nishida to bring to life the American occupation of Japan in the perilous and unpredictable days just after Emperor Hirohitoas World War II surrender. As General Douglas MacArthur (Jones) suddenly finds himself the de facto ruler of a foreign nation, he assigns an expert in Japanese culture a' and psychological warfare a' General Bonner Fellers (Fox), to covertly investigate the looming question hanging over the country: should the Japanese Emperor, worshiped by his people but accused of war crimes, be punished or saved? Caught between the high-wire political intrigue of his urgent mission and his own impassioned search for the mysterious school teacher (Hatsune) who first drew him to Japan, Fellers can be certain only that the tricky subterfuge about to play out will forever change the history of two nations and his heart. (The Works UK Distribution)
(more)Reviews (2)
An excellently filmed history lesson. A story with a classic structure and Webber manages to sell it mainly thanks to his respect for Japan. Fox doesn’t perform badly at all and Tommy Lee Jones is a sure bet, although his appearances are rather sporadic. But if you aren’t interested in the culture or in what happened there back then, this will be a waste of time. When you understand devotion, you’ll understand Japan.
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What happened to Emperor Hirohito after the war? Was he a murderer who deserved to be hanged or was he just a victim of the Japanese way of life? These are the questions that the characters in the film "Emperor" must resolve, of course, characters based on real post-war events and figures. It's just a shame that the film is sometimes unbelievably sterile. This could be a crazy story! And they throw in unnecessary romance to drag it out. Not to mention that the bamboo forest looks like Matthew's return to the island... The final scene with Hirohito and MacArthur (once again, the brilliant Tommy Lee Jones) is the highlight of the film, but what leads up to it is sometimes just boring.
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