In his highly acclaimed film, The Last Emperor, Bernardo Bertolucci does a fine job of narrating the life of last emperor, Pui Yi and gives important insights into Chinese culture and history throughout the journey. In this epic of a movie, Bertolucci’s depicts Pui Yi’s life by a pattern of flashback to Pui Yi’s childhood and early adulthood to his final years which he served in a Chinese reforming jail. The story begins with showing recently inducted toddler emperor Pui Yi, full of promise and potential on his decided path as emperor. However as the film progress, we do not find our little Pui Yi as a successful and charismatic ruler of China, but rather as a teenage forbidden out of The Forbidden City and eventually as an adult serving as the puppet leader for the enemy Japan. Much action is not seen during these three long hours; however I believe the decision of no-action truly reflects Pui Yi’s character. The Last Emperor demonstrates that Pui Yi’s reign is not marked by drastic changes but rather the lack of action and unheard voice of the ruler.
The Last Emperor also proves to be a valuable film to watch to get general insight into Chinese history and culture. From the tremendous Forbidden City to the elaborate costumes and sheer number of eunuchs, the audience can really visually grasp this period of time in Chinese history.
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