Glorious epic of 20th century China told through a man's life.

Rating: 8/10 (2 September 1999)

They speak English in 'The Last Emperor,' but when one begins watching it, he or she might feel as if they'd been placed in an alien culture with little understanding of what is going on. Things get more Anglo-friendly with the addition of a character played by Peter O'Toole and the longer you watch, the more you will enjoy, even with the 3-hour, 39-minute version. The wonderful ending alone would make it worth watching that long.
"Epic" is the operative word here in this Bernardo Bertolucci film about the history of one man and the growth of a nation. The film follows the life of Pu Yi, the last in the line of 2,000 years worth of royal emperors, crowned when he was but three years old. We see him unknowingly abdicate his throne as a boy, held virtual prisoner among the greatest opulence as a teenager, then seduced by the warlike Japanese as a young man, who return him to the throne as a puppet over Manchuria, which they've conquered. This narrative is intercut with his imprisonment and "re-education" as a war criminal during the time of Mao-Tse Tung. There's not a great deal of what we normally term as "action," but there is an intriguing story and plenty of glorious sites to see. This panoramic film is as big as China and deserves to be seen. John Lone and Joan Chen star.