A Biography and a Character Study

Rating: 9/10 (19 July 2014)

This movie is the biography of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi (commonly known as Puyi), the titular last Chinese Emperor. It is a rare Hollywood picture about the Orient. It takes very few liberties with historical facts and covers his entire life, an impressive feat given the many events that had taken place in and during his lifetime.
He was coronated at the age of three and sent to live in the Forbidden city. It was the time when China was transitioning from Monarchy to a Republic. The new government allowed him to retain the title and he was not to leave Forbidden City. Thus began his life as a puppet placed on a seemingly high pedestal by different regimes for their own benefit.
Puyi grew up in an extremely unhealthy environment. Separated from his mother when he was a toddler he had no friends, apart from his wet nurse, to give him love and no parental figures to teach him disciple or responsibility. The eunuchs residing at the City had no authority over him and he was at liberty to abuse them with impunity.
He grows up to be a product of his circumstances. His has well-meaning plans for Forbidden City and later the people of his native Manchu but he has no idea how to implement them. Instead he becomes even more powerless. To top it all he is misogynistic and vain with a misplaced sense of entitlement. He gets no sympathy from us, the viewers even thought we have seen how we became the person that he is. We hold him responsible for his decisions and non-action.
The movie opens with the beginning of Puyi's life post-imperialness, when he was held prisoner. After his release, he becomes a commoner. His time as the Emperor are shown in flashbacks. Ostensibly, he had a better life before. But, is it really true? He now has the freedom he never had before.
This movie is as much of a character study as a historical account. What makes this aspect of it work is its strong cast. Richard Vuu, as the toddler Puyi (he gets the movie poster all for himself!), is a delight to the eye and has remarkable acting chops for someone so young. John Lone brings the many internal conflicts, flaws, weaknesses, aspirations and virtues of both young and old Puyi to life. Joan Chen is perfect as the Empress who understands the situation better than her husband but is helpless because she is a woman. Vivian Wu, as Puyi's second consort, makes the best of the limited screen time she gets. Peter O'Toole, as teenage Puyi's mentor, is good as ever. Maggie Han deserves a special mention for making the character of Eastern Jewel, a real life Japanese spy whose life story merits a movie of its own, stand out given that she has very few lines. The only weak link in the acting department is Tao Wu (15 year Puyi).
This movie does not make the mistake of treating the Orient as something exotic, something which Hollywood is often guilty of doing. The mores, traditions and beliefs of the people, place and time portrayed in the movie have been well researched and it was shot on location in the Forbidden City scenes. Together they add up to give an authentic feel to the movie. It is a movie that richly deserves its Academy Award for Best Picture.