Word: emperor
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...status (recently celebrated in a 17- ; day 59th birthday party) assure him success in a culture that has respect for old age and a soft spot for the cute. The little fellow's image is everywhere in Japan -- on Mitsubishi bankbooks, in framed photos within Zen temples, even on Emperor Hirohito's wristwatch. "Mickey Mouse is an actor," explains the slogan on the cover of a Mickey Mouse diary, "and as such he can do anything; he can play any role...
...continues to live the life of an emperor without really being one, maintaining the luxuriant standards of his former lifestyle. But alas, the poor youth is lonely. Not allowed to go beyond the gates of the Forbidden City, he has to satisfy his curiosity through books and magazines...
...with the movie's scenes of debauchery and debasement. A master of capturing erotica, Bertolucci takes advantage of Pu Yi's early imperial splendor and later playboy lifestyle in Tienstin to give cinema some of the most sensual images since Bertolucci's own Tango. Bertolucci and Storaro follow the emperor and empress (Chen) as rich and powerful friends seduce them. While the emperor continues to foster megalomanic visions of regaining the throne, his wife takes to opium...
...displaced person nearly his entire life, manipulated by palace eunuchs, by the Japanese (while he is the puppet emperor of Manchuria) and finally by the Communists--Pu Yi never gets a fair chance at the throne. His life represents 60 years of Chinese political subjugation. An anti-hero at best, Lone's Pu Yi wins over the audience's sympathies. Every time there is even a glimmer of hope in his life a door literally shuts...
...more or less just adds to the scenery. This film really belongs to Bertolucci. Though Lone and Chen have some wonderful scenes, particularly at the end of the film, the most stunning aspect of the film is the cinematography. Bertolucci has once again proven that he is the reigning emperor of cinema spectacle...