The Last Emperor (1987)

  This is the second almost three hour depressing drama I have seen this week.  I am on a roll.

Henry Pu Yi (John Lone) was crowned Emperor of China at age three.  He grew up being told that he was the undisputed son of Heaven, a godlike figure to over a billion subjects, but as he aged, he began to see the tapestry of lies that made up his life.  He wielded no real power, not even as a figurehead, and was constantly prevented from achieving any real perspective or autonomy, despite the efforts of his tutor (Peter O'Toole), which made him a ripe target for exploitation during the Japanese occupation of Manchuria during the '30s and '40s.  Accused of collaboration and treason, the deposed emperor is imprisoned by the post-war Communist regime, where his life story is told through a series of flashbacks.

So this movie swept the Oscars in '87, winning all nine of its nominations.  It was directed by the late Bernardo Bertolucci and is considered to be a sweeping epic and one of the highlights of his career.  Roger Ebert gave it 4/4 stars.  It is a very good movie for costumes, casting, set design, and production values.

It is also extremely depressing and has some very creepy, gross depictions of women that are treated like throwaway scenes.  For instance, the emperor has a wet nurse until he is around 10-years-old and is shown nursing from her.  We are meant to be saddened, not relieved, when she is taken away on orders from the emperor's inherited concubines.  That's gross and profoundly unnecessary, yet still somehow on brand for the guy that decided to "surprise" his lead actress with butter used as anal lube for a rape scene.  The actress developed a drug problem and the director got an Oscar nomination.

Also, if you don't have at least a passing familiarity with Chinese history from the turn of the last century, you might want to keep a Wikipedia tab open.  The movie just assumes you know and doesn't give any context to help you out if you don't. 

The themes of helplessness, isolation, and autonomy still resonate strongly but aren't worth the ordeal of sitting through three hours of misery porn.