It is set after the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were dropped, but before the terms of the surrender were finalized. He is living in a rural house with a bunker in the basement. His daily routine is rather mundane as he goes to meetings with his war council, does scientific experiments (which is apparently his passion) and speaks to his butler and other servants. They limit is contact to the outside world as a way of protecting him from the outside reality.
Interestingly, the film is directed by Russian Aleksandr Sokurov and not a Japanese filmmaker (he is also the director of photography). The style of the film is wonderful, beginning in the bunker, where there is a powerful sense of isolation and claustrophobia. As the emperor is slowly allowed to go above ground and ultimately outside, the atmosphere is misty and gray, not clear and beautiful. The physical power of the bunker and its formal heaviness is a very strong symbol for the Emperor's status. As his mental process proceeds, until he ultimately proclaims his non-God status, the architecture moves to a more standard wood, glass and light screens - a very beautiful approach.
It is hard to watch this film and not think of Oliver Hirschbiegel's recent Downfall, about Adolph Hitler in his bunker in the final days of the war. Aside from the fact that the atmosphere is very much alike, the psychological structure of the film is very similar as well. Both films show a once great men (at least great in power and status) dealing with his own flawed judgement and the fact that he lost on the biggest scale imaginable. Both men are surrounded by yes-men who continue to tell them what they want to hear (that they are in fact winning the war despite the reality outside of their bunkers) and hide important truths from them.
But another important corollary that I see is Robert Altman's Secret Honor (one of the smallest films of Altman's career and one of this most interesting), about Richard Nixon in his later years (in the 1980s) frantically and obsessively going over his history and shouting about how he is truly not a crook. Hirohito, in this film, sits in stark contrast to Nixon, as he is dignified and comes to his important conclusion without the histrionics and entirely on his own. He is the sanest man in the bunker (which Hitler might also be in Downfall), while Nixon is the craziest man his office. All three films deal beautifully with men working out and coming to terms with their legacy at the end of their runs. Hirohito easily is the most elegant with this struggle.
Issei Ogata plays Hirohito beautifully as a smart man with a child-like interest in the things that surround him and a loving normalness rarely seen in royalty (in film at any rate). He deserves acclaim and awards for this performance. (As I look at his recent film credits, I notice that at least two of them are also wonderful - Edward Yang's Yi Yi from 2000 and Jun Ichikawa's Tony Takitani from 2004, both of which were on my best of the respective year lists. Clearly Ogata knows how to pick his roles well and does magnificently well when he gets a part!)
The most glaring negative to this film are the fact that a few actors playing American military men are pretty bad. I think many of them are Russian actors with dubbed-in voices. However it is done, it's rather cringe-worthy when they're onscreen speaking.
This is a much more simple and approachable film that other recent works by Sukurov, namely Aleksandra and Russian Ark. Both of those films were visually stunning, but left me a bit cold with story and content. This film is visually interesting, but also fascinating as a narrative and a mental journey. It is certainly the best of the Sukurov films I've seen and is well worth watching.
Stars: 3.5 of 4
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