The marketing materials for Emperor make significant use of Tommy Lee Jones, who portrays the famed General Douglas MacArthur in the movie. However, be warned that Jones, though wonderful, is very much a supporting actor in this film, which tells a fictionalized version of the post-World War II occupation of Japan. Believe it or not, the fascinating true-life figure of MacArthur is apparently no longer considered fascinating enough to carry a movie itself these days.
After the surrender of Japan, MacArthur understands that in order to rebuild the country the Americans “must be seen as liberators, not conquerors,” and while MacArthur has no issue with trying Japan’s political and military leaders for war crimes (leading to the execution of many of them), the question on what to do with Emperor Hirohito (Takatarô Kataoka) is a difficult one. Hirohito was viewed by the Japanese people as a divine leader, and executing him could unravel the fragile occupation peace. But the American people (and thus, politicians) call for Hirohito’s execution because of all that America lost in the war.
To make the case for Hirohito’s exoneration, MacArthur turns to General Bonner Fellers (Matthew Fox), an expert in Japanese culture. However, he runs into difficulties when the honor-bound Japanese leadership either refuse to help him or simply don’t know the extent of Hirohito’s role in the war atrocities. Echoing this is a deeply personal mission for Fellers as he searches for the whereabouts of a Japanese woman named Aya (Eriko Hatsune), whom he fell in love with while in college in 1932 and hasn’t seen since 1940. Fellers becomes increasingly frustrated by his personal mission, the burden of trying to do the seemingly impossible in absolving the emperor, and by MacArthur’s grandstanding to fulfill his future political ambitions. Fellers realizes that the solution is ultimately rooted in understanding the mindset of the Japanese people.
Because of Fellers’ missions — both professional and personal — the film has elements of the procedural. Fox plays a good military man, and though Emperor focuses on his character it’s hard to not feel like there isn’t enough Jones as MacArthur. After all, it’s hard to take your eyes off Jones as it is when he’s on screen in any movie — when he’s playing an iconic American figure it’s even harder. The film also has many strong performances by wonderful Japanese actors like Masayoshi Haneda as Fellers’ driver and translator Takahashi. The images of bombed-out Japan are heart-wrenching, and the sets and costumes show a lot of quality.
Though based on historical truths, the film is absolutely a work of fiction. Aya is a fictional character, and Fellers’ relationship to her is greatly embellished from vague references in Fellers’ writings. His relationship with MacArthur is portrayed as much cooler than that in reality, and MacArthur himself was a major architect of Hirohito’s exoneration (the film leaves it to Fellers to convince MacArthur). Let’s face it, if critics of Lincoln are going nuts over the way Connecticut’s Congressmen were depicted alone (though their criticisms do have merit), historians would slice this movie to fifteen minutes.
Which brings up my main criticism: why the love story? I get that it’s a metaphor for American-Japanese understanding, but the early days of the Occupied Japan are fascinating enough for a movie without giving Fellers a romantic angle. In fact, I doubt Jones wouldn’t have gone for a bigger role for MacArthur — he is one of the few actors with the right presence to play MacArthur (even Laurence Olivier couldn’t do it), so this could have easily been his movie instead of Fox’s. The content of this movie obviously appeals to people who like history, so why not aim it to them instead of rising their ire? The exoneration of the Imperial Family is a far more complex issue than portrayed in the film, and I would have preferred to see the movie tackle the controversy rather than whitewash over much of it. In that way Emperor is similar to Pearl Harbor, a movie that had great potential but was completely torpedoed by ridiculous historical inaccuracies and an unnecessary love story — because again, I guess the bombing of Pearl Harbor wasn’t considered interesting enough by the filmmakers. Perhaps these films could serve as bookends in a The Inaccurate Romantic History of the War on Japan box set? Okay, okay… to be fair, Emperor is nowhere near as bad or inaccurate as Pearl Harbor!
I also thought of Emperor in comparison to Lore, a movie I recently watched about Occupied Germany that I liked very much. Lore tells a fictional story about that era that reflects the general experience the German people must have faced, while Emperor takes an actual historical circumstance and attempts to make it a personal story. Lore succeeds because it uses its era to enrich the story, while Emperor plays loosely with the compelling facts because they got in the way of a been-there-done-that love story that the filmmakers wanted to tell instead.
Director Peter Webber‘s career has been marked by inconsistency — Girl with a Pearl Earring was well made, while Hannibal Rising was awful. This film is another example of that inconsistency. Co-writer David Klass has never really written a great screenplay, and his co-writer Vera Blasi hasn’t written a screenplay since 2001’s Tortilla Soup. I’m surprised a project set in this infinitely interesting period didn’t attract stronger creative talent, but perhaps the Pearl Harbor approach scared off the bigger names — all except Tommy Lee Jones, of course, who just seems happy to be playing MacArthur.
Rating: Emperor takes the wrong angle on a fascinating period in history, and there isn’t enough Tommy Lee Jones (5/10).
Emperor will be released in theaters on March 8.
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