Epic in its sweep, THE LAST EMPEROR brings us into a world very few have seen, the Forbidden City and the palace where the emperor stays. We see his life progress from when he is 3 until he has abdicated his throne and now lives a humble life of a Chinese man. I found this story rivetting, yes it is true there are no moments of courage where this man wows you with his daring exploits and takes over the silver screen with his flamboyant personality and there are no moments where he saves his country from the corrupt leaders of ambition. In fact he is quite meek, almost an anti-hero. But then (in this director's cut) we see him later on in life at a re-education camp come to grips with his actions which he didn't understand as a younger man. This is cinema greatness, we see the humanity of it all and we see ourselves in our own lives, the moments where we are lost and the days where we look inside ourselves in our struggle to fight back against larger forces where we seem to have little control. I was absolutely gripped in the kewl sequences depicting how a world leader is pampered in his cloistered palace and given the special attention movie stars receive. Bernardo Bertolucci gets my plaudits for one of the best films of all time. [5 stars]
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