Masterpiece

Yeah, I saw this film about a month ago and it is very good. I read an article on it recently and apparently they went soft on the communist party. PuYi was treated a lot worse than they portray in this film. I figured as such. He looks a little too comfortable when he's getting interrogated by the reds.

The CCP approved this film and might have been because it made them look soft but they actually did allow them to use the forbidden city for this film. So, that was a great addition to the movie.

Anyhow... here's the article... https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/apr/15/the-last-emperor

At any rate, the CCP bothered to treat the Emperor as someone they could (re)educate.

Compare that treatment to the bolsheiviks or nazis or kmer rouge.

They also didn't gloss over the cultural revolution. I think the CCP in the 80s was slightly less xenophobic than they have regressed to, these days.

It was a fine film, made a large impression on me when I saw it at its release.

I liked the sets, costumes, and cinematography, but I don't think it is a masterpiece. It's a 6/10 for me.