""Emperor" is a 2012 American-Japanese joint production directed by Peter Webber of Great Britain and starring American actors Matthew Fox as Brigadier General Bonner Fellers and Tommy Lee Jones as Allied Supreme Commander Douglas MacArthur about the investigation of HM the Showa Emperor for war crimes in the wake of World War II. Filmed mostly in New Zealand and on a rather limited budget, which really doesn't show as the mixed-in CGI was handled very well, the movie purports to deal with the overall theme of "justice or revenge". Unfortunately, like so many historical films, the factual story is frequently set aside in favor of a really rather unnecessary romantic subplot. Rounding out the cast is the lovely Eriko Hatsune as Aya Shimada, Toshiyuki Nishida as General Kajima, Masatoshi Nakamura as Prince Fumimaro Konoe, Kaori Momoi as Mrs. Kajima and Colin Moy as General Richter. Aside from the actors brought in from Japan, most of the supporting cast consists of New Zealanders in the role of American military personnel.
The film opens with stock footage of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and shots of the utter devastation that was post-war Japan. The film is set, for the most part, in Tokyo which is nothing but rubble and it is mentioned how the American bombers turned the city into history's largest crematorium by use of fire bombing and one raid on Tokyo alone taking the lives of 100,000 people. Early on we are introduced to General Fellers and the first of many flashbacks filling us in on his past romance with a Japanese girl named Aya Shimada, the niece of General Kajima. Upon arrival, Fellers is first tasked with apprehending 30 Japanese leaders for war crimes, starting with former Prime Minister Hideki Tojo (Shohei Hino). They arrive just after General Tojo shot himself in the chest but, of course, he lived as General MacArthur was very specific that every effort was to be taken to keep him alive long enough for him to be executed (you know, after that silly formality called a "trial"). As soon as that was done General MacArthur explains that the government in Washington wants to see the Emperor executed as a war criminal and he gives General Fellers ten days to investigate the guilt or innocence of the Emperor and then present his recommendation to MacArthur. More than anything else, MacArthur is most concerned with making the occupation as peaceful and efficient as possible and rebuilding Japan according to American values.
then move into the main theme of the film which consists of General Fellers meeting with key Japanese officials, always after considerable resistance, attempting to determine the guilt or the innocence of the Emperor always to be met with no real answers to his satisfaction but then being sent to meet with someone else and the process begins again. Mixed in with this are numerous flashback scenes to his romance with Aya who he met in college. After returning home unexpectedly, Fellers meets her again in Japan just before the war where he is writing a paper on the mindset of the Japanese soldier. Aya introduces him to her uncle General Kajima who tells him that if Japan fights the United States, the Japanese will win because they follow the divine will of the Emperor. Aside from these occasional flashbacks on the odd drive through the country by Fellers in his efforts to locate Aya, what we get is a series of interviews between Fellers and Japanese officials that really result in no answers at all for his questions. It makes for a rather stale film at times, helped in no small part by the fact that we all know how it is going to end. We know the Emperor was not deposed and executed and that the Japanese monarchy continues to reign. So, something more is needed to make for an interesting movie, some new aspect or fresh look at things and, unfortunately, this is just not delivered
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Full review here.
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Amicalement
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