Emperor
is a homework assignment.
By 'homework assignment,' I mean that the film faithfully recreates a place and time (Japan in the immediate aftermath of its surrender in WWII), dramatizes the experiences of actual people who lived through events there, and offers its audience an hour and a half of living history.
It
even taught me a few things. While I've read many books on the War
in the Pacific, I'm not sharp on what happened in its aftermath.
Emperor,
for example, taught me that MacArthur first landed in Japan at the
Atsugi airfield, where I've served in many detachments as a Navy
C-130 pilot. “A-ha,” I thought as I saw the film, “That's why
there's a statue of MacArthur near the front gate!” It taught me
about Brigadier General Bonnner Fellers (Matthew Fox), whom MacArthur
ordered to investigate Emperor Hirohito's complicity in the war's
commencement. It taught me about many of the members of Japan's
ruling class, their relationships, and the power dynamics among them.
More importantly, it depicted the devastation of postwar Tokyo, a devastation that old, still, B&W photos can only suggest.
So, yes, Emperor is a homework assignment, but it's a good homework assignment. Tommy Lee Jones (whom you really should see in TheThree Burials of Melquiades Estrada) makes a fine MacArthur, the production values are top notch, and you're bound to learn something. I'd show it to my class.
By 'homework assignment,' I mean that the film faithfully recreates a place and time (Japan in the immediate aftermath of its surrender in WWII), dramatizes the experiences of actual people who lived through events there, and offers its audience an hour and a half of living history.
It
even taught me a few things. While I've read many books on the War
in the Pacific, I'm not sharp on what happened in its aftermath.
Emperor,
for example, taught me that MacArthur first landed in Japan at the
Atsugi airfield, where I've served in many detachments as a Navy
C-130 pilot. “A-ha,” I thought as I saw the film, “That's why
there's a statue of MacArthur near the front gate!” It taught me
about Brigadier General Bonnner Fellers (Matthew Fox), whom MacArthur
ordered to investigate Emperor Hirohito's complicity in the war's
commencement. It taught me about many of the members of Japan's
ruling class, their relationships, and the power dynamics among them. More importantly, it depicted the devastation of postwar Tokyo, a devastation that old, still, B&W photos can only suggest.
So, yes, Emperor is a homework assignment, but it's a good homework assignment. Tommy Lee Jones (whom you really should see in TheThree Burials of Melquiades Estrada) makes a fine MacArthur, the production values are top notch, and you're bound to learn something. I'd show it to my class.
