The Sun

[J.sharp]

Just had a chance to catch Russian director Sukorov's THE SUN, about the
Emperor Hirohito yesterday, and wasnt really sure what to make of it, so I
was wondering what the general consensus on the list was.
The reviews in the UK have been positive from what I have seen, praising
Issey Ogata's central performance with words like "powerful" and
"captivating".
I came out of the cinema with rather mixed feelings. The first half is
incredibly slow - no surprise with this particular director. You know its a
bad sign when you first check your watch only 17 minutes into the film. I
did wonder if I was going to make it all the way through, but fortunately
things did pick up from their.
The high point of the film is the fictionalised hypothetical encounter
between Hirohito and General MacArthur after Japan's defeat, and I was
reminded in interviews that Hirohito had no interest in trying to recreate
this encounter with any patricular historical veracity. There's no way he
could have, as the conversations all took place between the two in secret
and behind closed doors.
So what really remains at the end is an atmospheric character study, based
on what Sukorov imagined the characters to be like. MacArthur mouths the
line that he thought the emperor was childlike, and basically this is the
way he is portrayed in the film - a bumbling, detached character who is
compared at one point to Charlie Chaplin. I imagine this sort of thing
wouldnt go down too well in Japan. I was also a little annoyed by the main
actors constant fish-mouth actions, which seemed a little overdone for my
liking.
As I said, I am still wondering if the film is any good, or if a director
such as Sukorov is seen as beyond proper criticism by the critics, so any
opinions would be greatly welcomed.
Where has the film screened so far? Will it get a Japanese release?

Jasper Sharp






--
Midnight Eye: The Latest and Best in Japanese Cinema
www.midnighteye.com

===

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The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film (Stone Bridge Press)
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http://www.midnighteye.com/features/midnighteye_guide.shtml
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