Watches
October 31, 2021
Leave it to the Italians to make an English-language film about the last Chinese emperor. I'm not sure what Bertolucci was thinking, but it puts a serious damper on the fun. Worse than that still is the looming shadow of Yimou Zhang that hangs above this film. It's difficult to enjoy its visual beauty when it doesn't really compare to what Zhang might've done with it.
The film details the life of the last emperor of China, from the day he rose to power, to his involvement in the Japanese takeover of Manchuria and his imprisonment afterwards. It's not the most historically correct adaptation of his life, then again there's a reason why Bertolucci had so much freedom shooting his film on location.
This feels like a Hollywood production in almost every way. It's an epic tale for sure, but the not-quite-there cinematography, the ill-fitting soundtrack and the English language all increase the disconnect with what is supposed to be a film about China. It's certainly not all bad, but not at all what it should've been.