Emperor -- March 2013

A DECENT HISTORY LESSON

Did you know that, in the aftermath of World War II, there was a significant controversy as to whether Japanese Emperor Hirohito should be tried as a war criminal and hanged if convicted? I didn't. I've visited the Battleship Missouri at Pearl Harbor and have stood at the place on the ship where the Japanese surrender took place. Until recently I didn't know a whole lot more than that about the end of the war in the Pacific Theater. However, I know more now that I've seen Emperor, a new movie that chronicles the real events of the war's conclusion. It turns out to be a pretty decent history lesson.

Emperor stars Matthew Fox as Brigadier General Bonner Fellers and Tommy Lee Jones as General Douglas MacArthur. Fellers, an expert on Japanese culture and psychological warfare, as well as a protégé of MacArthur, was charged by the general with the task of leading an investigation to determine whether Hirohito was or was not a war criminal. MacArthur, in his role as the supreme commander of the occupying forces in Japan, was the de facto ruler of Japan after the surrender.

A significant part of the plot of the picture involves a love story between Fellers and Aya, the Japanese exchange student he'd met while in college back in America. Fellers had lost touch with Aya when he was first sent to Japan in the late 30s but managed to seek her out and find her. When he is re-posted to Japan in 1945, he attempts to find Aya but to no avail. He does locate her uncle, who gives him a heartfelt lesson about Japanese culture, particularly regarding the Japanese sense of honor. Aya's uncle strongly reminds Fellers that Hirohito is considered a god by his subjects and that executing him would probably have a devastating effect on future Japanese-American relations. This lesson is not lost on Fellers, as it prepares him well for his eventual face-to-face meeting with Hirohito himself.

Emperor has been criticized by some reviewers and lauded by others. Its detractors seem to consider the love story superfluous and a distraction from the film's central purpose. I'm on the laudatory side and don't agree with this criticism. The relationship between Fellers and Aya is presumably fictional; it's not known whether the historical Fellers had an actual relationship with a Japanese exchange student or not. Nonetheless, this part of the story does provide a key puzzle piece in explaining the evolution in Fellers' concept of respect for the Japanese people and his eventual belief in a modicum of mercy. Many Americans at the time were calling for vengeance, but we know from Scripture that the Lord says, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay."

The picture was filmed mostly in New Zealand; particularly admirable is its re-creation of the desolation of postwar Japan. Fox gives a strong performance as Fellers, and Tommy Lee Jones is impressive in his portrayal of MacArthur – though one might wish he were in more scenes. Best of all, the film maintains an excellent tension throughout. We know that Hirohito renounced his divine status and was not tried and executed, but for most of the picture we're afraid that won't be the outcome.

Bottom line: Worth a look.

Film Rating: PG-13 (language, simulated violence)

My Rating: 3 stars

Quartet -- January 2013

GROWING OLDER JOYFULLY

There are other things certain in life besides death and taxes. One of them is aging. We will all grow older, and most of us probably want to age gracefully and finish our race as well as we can. Older age is beset with potential fears and problems, however. Will there be anyone around to take care of us? Will our health be good? Will we have interesting things to do in our golden years? Will we have friends? Wouldn't it be nice, for instance, to live in a classy retirement home named something like, say, Beecham House, with people who did the same thing in their careers that we did?

This is the premise of Quartet, a new movie directed by Dustin Hoffman and starring British actors Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, and Pauline Collins, along with British mansion Hedson House in the role of Beecham House. Beecham is a beautiful (fictional) restored retirement domicile for retired musicians in the countryside not far from London. The individuals who live there come from all sorts of musical walks – e.g., instrumentalists, writers, and opera singers.

Three of the residents are members of the quartet from the opera Rigoletto in its heyday on the London stage. Reginald, Wilf, and Cissy (Courtenay, Connolly, and Collins) are comfortable in their life at Beecham until, that is, the advent of Jean (Smith), the fourth member of the Rigoletto quartet and a diva first class. Jean is bitter about aging and won't even talk to anyone when she first arrives. Reginald, in particular, is not happy about her coming, as he and Jean were once in a marriage that ended unhappily.

Jean's arrival just happens to coincide with Beecham's yearly fundraising concert, in which the residents of Beecham will put on a musical extravaganza in an attempt to keep the home afloat financially. It's obvious to everyone at Beecham (as well as to us, the viewers) that Jean will have to join Reginald, Wilf, and Cissy in once again singing the quartet from Rigoletto. The only trouble is getting Reginald and Jean to go along with the idea. Jean says she won't sing again, and Reginald doesn't want to forgive Jean for leaving him for another man. Meanwhile, adding to the confusion, Wilf can't keep himself from trying to put the move on every female he finds (he never does, though), and Cissy seems to be struggling with the beginnings of dementia.

Quartet is about many things: teaching others, communication and friendship, and growing older gracefully. Above all, it’s about forgiveness and redemption. It's not a Christian movie specifically, but the resolution of the conflict is consistent with Christian values. The actors perform superbly: Maggie Smith is stellar; similarly, Courtenay, Connolly, and Collins are standouts. From all indications, the cast was very happy with Dustin Hoffman in his directorial debut. The only real negatives are some language issues: a couple of uses of the f-word, the s-word, and some instances of taking the Lord's name in vain.

Bottom Line: If you can get past the unfortunate language, you'll probably enjoy this picture a great deal. Especially pleasing is the film's backdrop with its focus on beautiful, well-performed music. Not for children.

Film Rating: PG-13.

My Rating: 3 stars.

Bless Me, Ultima -- February 2013

GOOD VERSUS EVIL

The time: 1944. The place: Guadalupe, New Mexico. The situation: Seven-year-old Antonio Márez (aka Tony), lives with his parents, Gabriel and María, and his two older sisters. Tony's three older brothers are in Europe, fighting World War II. As the story begins, Tony learns from Gabriel and María that an elderly woman named Ultima, whom they have known and respected for many years, will be coming to live with them. Having no one else, Ultima will spend her final years with the family. She was the midwife at Tony's birth, and she is a curandera – a healer – and, as her name indicates, the last of her kind. Tony and Ultima are soon fast friends, he becoming her disciple and she his mentor.

Thus we have the opening of Bless Me, Ultima, Carl Franklin's film adaptation of Rudolfo Anaya's 1972 autobiographical novel of the same name. Ultima is a coming-of-age tale which, among other things, is about growing up Chicano in an era of modernization. However, the picture's overall scope is broader, dealing with several compelling themes: good versus evil and why evil even exists; the restless vagabond lifestyle versus the settled rural lifestyle; Christianity in contrast with traditional Native American religion; experiencing adversity and becoming stronger because of it.

Here's how the plot unfolds: Shortly after Ultima arrives, she is called to the bedside of Lucas, one of the brothers of María. The three daughters of Tenorio Trementina, an evil town businessman, have put a curse on Lucas, and he is dying. Ultima, accompanied and assisted by Tony, manages to cure Lucas by causing him to vomit the object which is causing his illness. Tony's Uncle Lucas recovers but not without incurring the ire of Tenorio, who believes that Ultima is una bruja – a witch – and vows to kill her. The battle between Tenorio and Ultima forms the major conflict in the book – and the film.

Many other interesting happenings take place in the ensuing months. Tony starts first grade and does so well that he is promoted to third grade at the end of the year. He meets a lot of other boys and becomes friends with most of them. Tony's three brothers return to Guadalupe from the war, but they have been changed: two of them are restless and leave for the big city of Albuquerque. The other stays in town but, much to Tony's disappointment (he had admired this brother a great deal), comes to spend most of his time at the local brothel. Especially interesting are the experiences of Tony and the town children in the catechism class held in the local Catholic church. The class is taught by a harsh priest who, as another reviewer has pointed out, leads the children to greatly fear God rather than understand and seek Him. This causes considerable consternation among the children, most notably in Tony, who finds his faith challenged.

Much else happens in the story, in particular the final confrontation between Tenorio and Ultima, but I'll leave it to you to discover that for yourself. Pay particular attention to the owl who always accompanies Ultima. What does the owl represent? Also note the theme that Ultima repeats again and again: "Good always overcomes evil."

Bless Me, Ultima was filmed on location in New Mexico, and anyone who has lived in that state (I am one such person) is likely to find the landscape and instances of local color highly appealing. The movie offers something more, however: a look at a culture with which we might not be very familiar, in the context of universal themes. The role of Ultima is excellently played by Puerto Rican actress Miriam Colon, and twelve-year-old (nine at the time of filming) Los Angeles actor Luke Ganalon shines as Tony. The only really well-known actor in the picture is Alfred Molina, who does the adult voiceover narration.

Bottom Line: The movie contains many beautiful scenes and touching moments. It's definitely worth your time, money, and effort. Unfortunately, few movies can do complete justice to the books they are made from. In Bless Me, Ultima, as in many films made from books, a good deal is of necessity left out. My best recommendation is to see the picture and then read the novel. Former First Lady Laura Bush placed the book on her Must Read List.

Film Rating:  PG-13 (violence, language)

My Rating: 3 stars