FilmJudge - The Last Emperor

REVIEW

The Last Emperor
1987
Certificate: 15 | Runtime: 160 | Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Starring: John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole

Puyi (Lone) was the last Emperor of China, removed from power in 1912. However, in 1934 he was installed as the ruler of Manchukuo, a puppet state administered by the Empire of Japan. After WWII, Puyi is captured by the Soviets and is treated as a war criminal. A failed suicide attempt causes him to reminisce about his childhood in the Forbidden City, and his reign as Emperor from the age of three, which lasted a total of four years. He also recalls his adolescence, during which he was essentially a prisoner within the City, and his time as ruler of Manchukuo. Many years later, Puyi spends his time working as a gardener at the time of the Cultural Revolution.

Films that try to cover the entirety of an individual's life often have difficulty in maintaining consistency, and The Last Emperor certainly suffers from this problem. The sections devoted to the older Puyi are generally excellent. Lone perfectly captures the quiet dignity, frustration and strength of a character of a man who once had everything, but who now has nothing. It's a subtle performance; one which seems filled with emotion despite not exhibiting much of it externally. Chen is also very impressive. She plays Wan Jung, the Emperor's wife, who follows her husband to Manchukuo when he is installed as ruler. Her story is a compelling and tragic one - the treatment of an illegitimate child sends her into a devastating spiral of drug addiction that tears her life to pieces. Chen handles all aspects of the character well, though once Wan Jung becomes hooked on opium the character all but stops developing and properly interacting. The preliminary scenes, focusing on Puyi's imprisonment by the Russians are also strong, though a little repetitive. And the final moments of the film, set during the Cultural Revolution, also work fine.

However, the portions of the film dedicated to Puyi's early years are hollow and uninteresting. To begin with, it's difficult to connect with the young Puyi, who is played by two different actors - Richard Vuu and Tsou Tijger - at ages three and eight respectively. While the very notion of a child this young being hoisted onto the throne of a vast country is oddly compelling, there is little about Puyi himself that's worth caring for. The child is relatively unlikeable, and though some of this can be put down to his extraordinary circumstances, there's something fundamentally irritating about him. Much of the acting in these segments is decidedly second-rate as well. I suspect part of this comes from the fact that native Chinese actors are forced to speak in English, but even Peter O'Toole fails to impress when he pops up as the Emperor's tutor, Reginald Johnston. Overall, there's a real lack of life in the scenes set during Puyi's childhood.

Visually, the film is a triumph. It was the first time a Western film crew was permitted to film inside the Forbidden City, and Bertolucci and his cinematographer Vittorio Storaro make great use of the awe-inspiring surroundings. The film manages to convey both the grand and magisterial elements of the City, as well as its inherently incarcerative and claustrophobic nature. Everything else, from the costumes (James Acheson), to the music (Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Byrne), and the production design help give the film a real sense of atmosphere and a certain period feel.

So while The Last Emperor remains a film of two decidedly unequal halves, that doesn't mean it should miss out on a recommendation. Its positive elements are good enough to merit as such, though it certainly isn't a film without significant deficiencies.

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