Ryuichi Sakamoto Movies
Noted Japanese pop music artist Ryuichi Sakamoto made his debut as an actor and film score composer in the 1983 film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. He then went on to write several more scores. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
The Last Emperor is the true story of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi, the last ruler of the Chinese Ching Dynasty. Told in flashback, the film covers the years 1908 to 1967. We first see the three-year-old Pu Yi being installed in the Forbidden City by ruthless, dying dowager Empress Tzu-Hsui (Lisa Lu). Though he'd prefer to lark about like other boys, the infant emperor is cossetted and cajoled into accepting the responsibilities and privileges of his office. In 1912, the young emperor (Tijer Tsou) forced to abdicate when China is declared a republic, is a prisoner in his own palace, "protected" from the outside world. Fascinated by the worldliness of his Scottish tutor (Peter O'Toole), Pu Yi plots an escape from his cocoon by means of marriage. He selects Manchu descendant Wan Jung (Joan Chen), who likewise is anxious to experience the 20th century rather than be locked into the past by tradition. Played as an adult by John Lone, Pu Yi puts into effect several social reforms, and also clears the palace of the corrupt eunuchs who've been shielding him from life. In 1924, an invading warlord expels the denizens of the Forbidden City, allowing Pu Yi to "westernize" himself by embracing popular music and the latest dances as a guest of the Japanese Concession in Tientsin. Six years later, his power all but gone, Pu Yi escapes to Manchuria, where he unwittingly becomes a political pawn for the now-militant Japanese government. Humiliating his faithful wife, Pu Yi falls into bad romantic company, carrying on affairs with a variety of parasitic females. During World War II, the Japanese force Pu Yi to sign a series of documents which endorse their despotic military activities. At war's end, the emperor is taken prisoner by the Russians; while incarcerated, he is forced to fend for himself without servants at his beck and call for the first time. He is finally released in 1959 and displayed publicly as proof of the efficacy of Communist re-education. We last see him in 1967, the year of his death; now employed by the State as a gardener, Pu Yi makes one last visit to the Forbidden City...as a tourist. Bernardo Bertolucci's first film after a six-year self-imposed exile, The Last Emperor was released in two separate versions: the 160-minute theatrical release, and a 4-hour TV miniseries. Lensed on location, the film won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
- R
Focusing on idiosyncratic characters and culture-clash comedy, rather than on the high-tech action its title might suggest, writer-director Peter Wang's The Laserman dramatizes the personal and professional struggles faced by a young Chinese-American scientist. When a bungled experiment leads to the death of his lab assistant, laser specialist Arthur Weiss (Marc Hayashi) is forced to reevaluate his life. His family provides little solace, as his attempts to deal with his mother (Joan Copeland), a Jewish woman obsessed with Chinese culture, and his brother (Tony Leung), a petty thief, lead only to more stress. Things begin to look up for Arthur when he receives a offer from a mysterious company to resume his research, but he soon discovers that his employers hope to use his developments for questionable ends, placing him in a disturbing moral crisis. Wang crowds the film with oddball personalities, opting for a quirkier sort of comedy than in his earlier A Great Wall, a more realistic look at the Chinese-American experience. Although the sheer number of these supporting characters and subplots often threatens to overwhelm the film, it attracted positive critical response for its offbeat humor. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marc Hayashi, Maryann Urbano, (more)
- 1986
Five years in the making, this entertaining animal story is about a feisty tomcat named Chatran who wanders away from the safety of his farm in Hokkaido and encounters a series of adventures in the outside world. Director Masanori Hata is a zoologist who runs a private animal farm on Hokkaido. His love for animals shines through in his handling of his "cast" here, which features cows, bears, pigs, snakes and birds, with not a single humans in sight. (This certainly eliminated the usual hassles over percentages or salaries.) Even for non-animal lovers, Chatran's adventures, from when he's a kitten until he grows up to have a family of his own, prove to be enjoyable. This film was given English-language voiceovers by Dudley Moore, and rereleased in the U.S., in 1989, as The Adventures of Milo and Otis. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence was the first English-language project of Japanese director Nagisa Oshima (Death by Hanging, In the Realm of the Senses). In tune with his previous filmic essays on racism and brutality, Merry Christmas concentrates on a war of wills between rebellious POW David Bowie and camp commandant Ryuichi Sakomoto. Assuming that his other prisoners' unwillingness to protest their cruel treatment is a sign of weakness, Sakomoto is most impressed by Bowie's enigmatic defiance. While Bowie and Sakomoto seem to be operating on a high spiritual and intellectual plane, bilingual prisoner Tom Conti (the "Mr. Lawrence" of the title) engages in a more standard adversarial relationship with sadistic sergeant Takeshi Kitano. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Bowie, Tom Conti, (more)
