This is one of the best movies I've ever seen. It covers a historical event where government officials acted in a wise manner, and in a way that could badly damage their political standing.At the end of WWII the American people were very angry with Japan and the Japanese government for the sneak attack that killed 2000 Americans, all of the Americans killed in the war and atrocities committed by the Japanese against American POW's. Much of this anger was directed at Emperor Hirohito who was seen as the instigator of the war.General Douglas MacArthur was placed in charge of the occupation force in Japan and tasked with the job of finding and arresting war criminals. MacArthur knew what the execution of Hirohito would do to the Japanese people and desperately needed an excuse to spare him.The film follows the efforts of General Bonner Fellers who, under MacArthur's orders was placed in charge of this difficult job. Fellers though has another very personal mission: Discovering the fate of a young Japanese woman he had fallen in love with before the war and tried to protect after being placed in charge of strategic bombing missions against Japan by rerouting them away from where she lived.Several people share their stories with him of what happened during the war, including his girlfriend's uncle who had served in the military in the war.It is rare for government officials to act wisely and even more rare for film makers to produce such a fine work as Emperor!

You might have heard that what few Scenes Tommy Lee Jones as General Douglas Macarthur has in this Lightweight Misfire can be Bonafide Theft, the other side is that Matthew Fox who's on Screen most of the Time gets Blown Away by almost Everyone He Stands Beside.That's not going to Bode Well for this Talky, Dry, and Deluded Movie that is about the Investigation into Japan's God Emperor and just how much Guilt should be Assigned to a Deity. It is a Film that has Lost its way along the way, Insisting on making much of an Interracial Affair as a Metaphor for the Post War Coming Together of the former Enemies.The Film works just Fine when it Attempts to Understand the Emperor and His Role in Military Affairs with Interviews and Investigations, but Overlaying the Interesting Aspects of all this is a Miscast Fox and a Deadly Droll Love Story best left to Something Else.There are some High Spots, like the End when Macarthur and the Emperor Exchange Eye Contact, but getting there is so much Ridiculous Romping that does nothing but Siphon the Enormity of the Events and Render them the Stuff of Popular Romantic Fiction.

While not really something that has any relation to something happening right now or when the movie came out, this sort of history lesson is quite nicely done. Matthew Fox back in a plane (brings back memories, I know), but lands quite safely in Japan. Namaste indeed. But that's not where the movie ends, it's where it begins. With the back-story of Foxs character and what Tommy Lee Jones character tries to do, we have a lot on the line.And while they are playing real life people (people that existed/do exist), I'm not sure where they took some liberties for dramatic purposes. I do know they tried to be as open minded and respectful to the portrayal of Japan. And I think they did succeed in that. A drama thriller that is surely more interesting to some people than to some others.

Although I like Tommy Lee Jones, I have to say right off that I was not entirely convinced by Tommy Lee Jones as Douglas MacArthur. He didn't seem to work in the role for me. That was something of a distraction, probably overcome by the fact that MacArthur was not front and centre in this. That place went to General Bonner Fellers (played by Matthew Fox.) Fellers was the American general who played a key role in investigating war crimes and making recommendations on charges to MacArthur.Ostensibly, the movie deals with the question of whether Emperor Hirohito should be tried as a war criminal. There's a good consideration of both sides of that debate; the pros and cons of trying Hirohito. Based, however, on my admittedly limited knowledge of what happened in post-war Japan, though, I'm not sure that the question was as open as depicted here. My understanding has been that the Americans never intended to try Hirohito and that it was with MacArthur's open concept that Fellers made sure that his reports recommended against the idea. That aside, the movie provides an interesting glimpse into the Japanese culture of the era, the reverence the Japanese held for their Emperor and the practical difficulties that would have been created by a trial.The movie weaves some of the quasi-historical narrative around the war crimes decision with a fictional story of a past romance between Fellers and a Japanese woman named Aya, that began at a college in the United States. We see flashbacks of that relationship, and at least a part of the movie is Fellers' search for Aya in the post-war world. The impression given is that the relationship perhaps softened Fellers' attitude toward the Japanese. I wasn't entirely taken with the need for the Aya storyline. I thought there was enough in the war crimes investigation to keep the movie going without that intrusion, although I concede that Aya was a likable enough character, and I did want to find out what her fate had been.As a straight war crimes movie, this would probably get a higher rating. As it stands - 7/10.