Emperor (2012)

"Emperor" (2013 release; 98 min.) brings the true story of how General/Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces MacArthur (played here by Tommy Lee Jones) was sent to Japan following Japan's surrender to end WWII, to assess which top ranking officials from Japan, including possibly Emperor Hirohito, should be brought to justice and stand trial. MacArthur enlistens the help of General Fellers (played by Matthew Fox) for the actual investigations, focusing on the Emperor, the Prime Minister and a few other top Ministers. The problem is that Washington demands a conclusion in only 10 days. The movie's script (based on the book 'His Majesty's Salvation' by Shiro Okamoto) intertwines the political and military aspects with a romantic involvement by Fellers with a Japanese woman whom he gets to know in the 1930s in the US, but who eventually returns to Japan without telling Fellers. Fellers is determined to find her now that he is back in Japan. Will Fellers find his former flame? Will Fellers and MacArthur conclude that the Emperor of Japan must stand trial? To tell you more would ruin your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Several thoughts: director Peter Webber (best known for directing "Girl With a Pearl Earring") does a nice job in bringing the necessary historical background and further perspective, so as to appreciate the task at hand for Fellers and MacArthur. Even though Tokyo was not hit by the atomic bomb, it nevertheless was severely shelled and bombed, and we get a glimpse of what that must've felt like. Tommy Lee Jones does the most with the choice role of MacArthur, including adding some much needed occasional humor. The meeting between MacArthur and the Emperor towards the movie's end is by far THE highlight of the movie. Kudo also to Alex Heffes for scoring a beautiful soundtrack for this movie. Last but not least, at the very end of the movie, we get to see several still pictures of the actual events, which really add to the poignancy of the movie.

The screening I saw this at in my local art-house theatre here in Cincinnati a few months ago was (to my surprise) very well attended and tilting heavily towards the seniors, so this movie might have some legs on DVD (it played quite some weeks in the theatre), not unlike that other recent historical movie "Hyde Park on Hudson". Bottom line: if you like historical drama, you will be well served by "Emperor".

At the conclusion of the War in the Pacific ("V J Day," for those of us old enough to remember), the Allied forces had a dilemma: Should the Emperor of Japan (the Emperor of the Chrysanthemum Throne) be tried (and hung) for war crimes? Few of us gave it a moment's consideration at the time, but here is a thought-provoking drama that examines the issue.

It stars:

* Tommy Lee Jones ("Lincoln") as General Douglas MacArthur, tasked with reconstructing Japan, writing a constitution and restoring the economy. (Plus MacArthur really wants to run for President of the United States.) Is Jones getting all the good parts lately, or does he just make his parts seem that good?

* Matthew Fox ("Alex Cross") as General Bonner Fellers, the guy who understands that if Emperor Hirohito is hung, an insurrection will be inevitable and the war will NOT be over. Fox does great suppressed rage. Watch for it!

* Eriko Hatsune ("Norwegian Wood") as Aya, the sweetheart Fellers met in college where she was an exchange student, but now long missing in the tumult of war.

The political issues are clearly stated, the situation is engrossing, the PG-13 dialogue is realistic, and a key statement in Japanese, by a Japanese official, has very legible captions in English. I'm sure the DVD from Amazon will have everything with captions. Whew!

Buy Emperor (2012) Now

I saw emperor shortly after it was released. I went to see it not only because I am interested in Japanese culture and history, but because I wanted to see the renowned Japanese actor and singer Masatoshi Nakamura in one of his rare appearances in an, American movie. He had a small part in it, but in my opinion he did a wonderful job. He had about a 5 minute speech which was quite powerful and moving. Mr. Nakamura has a long list of accomplishments and is very well known in Japan, so I am very happy that he had the opportunity to play an important role in an American movie.

Overall I think the movie was very well done. I would recommend it to anyone especially those who are interested in American and/or Japanese history.

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