Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The Oscar Project #60: The Last Emperor (1987)



If nothing else, Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor is one of the finest looking Best Picture winners to date, even during the darker periods covered by the film. It spans the life of the last emperor of China, Pu Yi, who was unseated from power after the rise of Chiang Kai-Shek. Unlike many stories about great leaders, Pu Yi did not rise from nothing to a place of great power. Instead, he began with everything and ended with nothing except his pride and his memories.

Because Pu Yi became emperor at the age of 3, he is played by a number of different actors, but we spend the most time in his adulthood, where he was portrayed by John Lone. There is very little star power in this film, with Peter O’Toole being the only widely recognizable star. But it is well-acted, despite the lack of known names.

Becoming an emperor when you are three years old presents an interesting set of benefits and challenges. Most of the benefits belong to Pu Yi himself, who is spoiled on a level that is unimaginable in modern days. If he misbehaved, what could be done? He ruled China absolutely, and absolute fealty was required among his subjects, even when he was a toddler.

When his brother demands proof that Pu Yi is emperor, he thinks about it for a moment and has one of his handlers drink the ink he is using to write with. Because he really is the emperor, the man does as he is told. This satisfies the brother.

Eventually, although Pu Yi is unaware of it, his empire crumbles around him, to the point that he is really only emperor within the walls of the Forbidden Palace. Meanwhile, a British tutor (O’Toole) is brought in to educate him, and they become close friends. Soon, though, the reality of the outside world can no longer be ignored.

Pu Yi during his Manchurian reign
Around this time, an interesting, and I would argue symbolic, event occurs. Before leaving the Forbidden Palace, it is discovered that Pu Yi needs glasses; if his vision is not corrected soon, he might lose it completely. Immediately after getting his glasses, he begins understanding the truth that he will not be emperor forever. He can see clearly now, and not just in a literal sense.

I don’t want to get too bogged down in the details of the plot; it’s a very long movie, after all. But I do want to mention how well I thought the film’s cinematography matched the overall situation that Pu Yi found himself in. At the beginning of the movie, when everything is perfect and his rule is total, the screen is filled with opulence and splendor. By the end, when he is a mere “gardener,” as he refers to himself, there is little to be seen but dark, drab colors. The visuals matched the mood perfectly.

I suppose I ended up liking The Last Emperor much more than I expected to. I knew extremely little about it at the outset, other than the most basic plot. For some reason, I pictured it as taking place centuries ago, which I guess is a testament to how little I actually know about Chinese history. It is actually set in the early 20th century, and a major portion of it takes place during World War II, when Pu Yi is the puppet governor of the Japanese colony in Manchuria.

That being said, much like Out of Africa, it’s a movie I can’t really imagine myself revisiting. Its impressiveness is tempered by its length, and there’s only so much time I’m willing to spend with the last emperor of China. 

No comments:

Post a Comment