''Emperor'' is a 2012 American-JapaneseIMDb: ''Emperor'' - Country
Linked 2013-06-05

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

film directed by

Peter Webber Peter Webber (born 1968) is a British film and television director and producer whose debut feature film as a director was '' Girl with a Pearl Earring'' (2003). He subsequently directed ''Hannibal Rising'' (2007). Early life Webber took a one ...

, marking his first film in five years.

Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor and film director. He has received four Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for his performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 thriller film '' The ...

and

Matthew Fox Matthew Chandler Fox (born July 14, 1966) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Charlie Salinger on ''Party of Five'' (1994–2000) and Jack Shephard on the drama series ''Lost'' (2004–2010), the latter of which earned him ...

star in lead roles as General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

and Brigadier General

Bonner Fellers Brigadier General Bonner Frank Fellers (February 7, 1896 – October 7, 1973) was a United States Army officer who served during World War II as a military attaché and director of psychological warfare. He is notable as the military attaché in ...

respectively.

Plot

Brigadier-General

is sent to Japan as a part of the occupation force. He is tasked with arresting

Japanese war criminals The Empire of Japan committed war crimes in many Asian-Pacific countries during the period of Japanese imperialism, primarily during the Second Sino-Japanese and Pacific Wars. These incidents have been described as an "Asian Holocaust". Some w ...

, including former Prime Minister

Hideki Tojo Hideki Tojo (, ', December 30, 1884 – December 23, 1948) was a Japanese politician, general of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), and convicted war criminal who served as prime minister of Japan and president of the Imperial Rule Assistan ...

. Before he departs, he privately orders his Japanese interpreter, Takahashi, to locate his Japanese girlfriend, Aya Shimada. After arresting Tojo, the

Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the United States-led Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. It issued SCAP Directives (alias SCAPIN, SCAP Index Number) to the Japanese government, aiming to suppress its "milit ...

, General

, informs Fellers that

Emperor Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

can't be tried as a war criminal. Doing so could lead to a revolt, but the American people want the Emperor to stand trial for Japan's actions. MacArthur gives Fellers ten days to investigate the Emperor. When Takahashi informs Fellers that Aya's Tokyo apartment was bombed, he orders him to investigate her hometown,

Shizuoka Shizuoka can refer to: * Shizuoka Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture * Shizuoka (city), the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture * Shizuoka Airport * Shizuoka Domain, the name from 1868 to 1871 for Sunpu Domain, a predecessor of Shizuoka Prefecture ...

. Fellers and his staff compile a list of people who advised Emperor Hirohito when the war started. None of the Japanese who are friendly to the Americans are among them and they resort to Tojo for more information. He gives them the name of Fumimaro Konoe, the former prime minister. Fellers then asks Konoe if the Emperor was responsible for starting the war and Konoe gives no conclusive evidence, but directs Fellers to

Kōichi Kido Marquis (July 18, 1889 – April 6, 1977) was a Japanese statesman who served as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan from 1940 to 1945, and was the closest advisor to Emperor Hirohito throughout World War II. He was convicted of war crimes ...

, Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. While Fellers waits to meet with Kido, Takahashi informs Fellers Kido will not show up. Fellers soon after recalls his 1940 visit to Tokyo when he reunited with Aya, then an English teacher. He learns Aya returned to Japan after her father became ill and died. After a banquet at MacArthur's residence, Takahashi informs Fellers that Shizuoka was bombed; Fellers immediately travels there. He is devastated by the damage and orders Takahashi to find a list of the dead. Fellers recalls his visit to Aya's uncle, General Kajima, for help with a paper on the mindset of the Japanese soldier. Kajima insists if the United States and Japan were at war, the Japanese would win because of the Japanese soldier's sense of duty to the Emperor. When Fellers returns to Tokyo, he decides he must interview Teizaburō Sekiya, a member of the Privy Council. Sekiya, like Konoe, does not give any evidence to exonerate the Emperor. During Fellers' interview with Kido, he discusses the time before the Japanese surrender. The Supreme Council's deadlock between those in favor of surrender and those who were not led the Emperor to address the Council. Because there were strong militarists in the Imperial Army, the Emperor made an audio recording of his order to surrender. Before the recording could be broadcast, the militarists attempted a coup and attacked the Imperial Palace. The Emperor and Kido survived and broadcast the recording. Unfortunately for Fellers, the other witnesses committed suicide and all records were destroyed, leaving him only with Kido's testimony. Kido informs Fellers the Emperor's role is, in actuality, a ceremonial one and the Emperor was influential in ending the war. Fellers decides to visit General Kajima, who has survived the war. Kajima explains to Fellers that the Japanese people are selfless and capable of great sacrifice as well as unspeakable crimes because of their strong devotion to their cultural values. Kajima does not know if the Emperor is guilty, but he notes his role in ending the war. He gives Fellers a box of folded letters written by Aya to Fellers and Fellers learns that Aya died in an Allied bombing raid. Fellers concludes it cannot be determined whether the Emperor is guilty or innocent, but his role in ending the war was significant. He gives his conclusion to MacArthur, who is displeased because of the lack of conclusive evidence. Fellers argues the Emperor should be exonerated as the Allies agreed they would allow Japan to keep him as the head of state. MacArthur orders Fellers to arrange a meeting between him and the Emperor. Before the Emperor arrives, Fellers informs MacArthur of his role in diverting Allied bombers away from Shizuoka. MacArthur replies because no American lives were lost because of it, he will turn a blind eye. When Emperor Hirohito arrives, he offers himself to be punished rather than Japan. MacArthur states he has no intention of punishing Japan or Hirohito and wishes to discuss Japan's reconstruction.

Cast

Production

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

began shooting in January 2012 in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Scenes used were shot on location at RNZAF Base Whenuapai and some Air Force personnel used as extras for the movie.

Release

The film

premiered A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

at the

2012 Toronto International Film Festival The 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 6 and September 16, 2012. TIFF announced the films that were accepted on August 21, 2012. On its 37th edition the TIFF included a 2 ...

and saw a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

in the United States on March 8, 2013. Producer Gary Foster, Matthew Fox and Tommy Lee Jones attended a Japanese premiere along with several Japanese actors and actresses on July 18, 2013, preceding its opening in the cinemas nationwide in Japan on July 27.

Reception

The film received mostly negative reviews, with only a 31% rating based on 86 reviews at the film

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, with the consensus: "Despite a typically strong performance from Tommy Lee Jones, ''Emperor'' does little with its fascinating historical palate, and is instead bogged down in a clichéd romantic subplot".Emperor – Rotten Tomatoes
/ref> The film also contains at least one major historical inaccuracy. At the beginning, before the titles, preparations are shown (in documentary footage) for the atomic bombing on '6 August 1945', according to the on-screen graphics. On August 6,

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

was bombed, with the 'Little Boy' bomb—but the footage clearly shows the 'Fat Man' bomb being loaded, flown and dropped on

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

. That raid was made three days later, on August 9, 1945.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Emperor 2012 films 2010s historical drama films 2012 war drama films American historical drama films American war drama films Pacific War films Japanese historical drama films Japanese war drama films English-language Japanese films 2010s Japanese-language films American multilingual films Japanese multilingual films Films set in Japan Films about the United States Army Films scored by Alex Heffes Films set in Tokyo Films shot in Japan Films shot in New Zealand Films shot in Tokyo Shochiku films Lionsgate films Roadside Attractions films Films set in 1945 Films set in 1946 Films about Douglas MacArthur Cultural depictions of Hideki Tojo Cultural depictions of Hirohito 2012 drama films Japan in non-Japanese culture Films directed by Peter Webber American World War II films Japanese World War II films Empire of Japan 2010s English-language films 2010s American films