A new film about MacArthur, the Japanese Emperor, and a lower level staff general played by hollywood heartthrob Matthew Fox, whose big screen story is about how his long lost love helps him to decide if the Emperor is guilty of war crimes.
Inspired by real events, Emperor finds MacArthur dragooning General Bonner Fellers (Matthew Fox) into the investigation. The big question: is Hirohito guilty of war crimes? And if brought to justice, will that ignite a powder keg of hostility from the surrendering Japanese people?
Give me a break. A balding 50 plus year old General is so unprofessional he lets a girlfriend influence his decision? No, it was MacArthur who told him to do it.
From Wikipedia:
According to historians Herbert Bix and John W. Dower, Fellers—under an assignment by the code name "Operation Blacklist"—allowed them to coordinate their stories to exonerate Emperor Hirohito and all members of his family.[3][4] This was at the direction of MacArthur, now head of SCAP, who wanted no criminal prosecution of the Emperor and his family.
heck, the trailer is even worse, where MacArthur, who knows Japanese culture, tells the fox character "you have experience in the culture". Sure he does. Boinking a girlfriend makes him an expert.
on the other hand, it worked for MacArthur, who had a Pinay mistress named "Dimples" and hung around the Manila hotel drinking with the locals, to the horror of the blue nosed Americans.
Then there is the miscasting of Tommy Lee Jones as MacArthur? No, Jones tends to be laid back and have a streak of humility in him. Doesn't sound like Dugout Doug at all, whose arrogance made him unpopular with most soldiers who fought in the South Pacific war, and eventually got him fired by Harry Truman.
PBS got it right in this one:
Douglas MacArthur had a detailed knowledge of Japan and Japanese culture. As Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the Pacific, MacArthur became the head of the occupation forces in Japan from their surrender in August 1945 to 1951. One of the first things he did was for the emperor, Hirohito, to announce on radio to the people of Japan, that he was not a god and just a mortal. He also used his influence to ensure that the emperor was not put on trial for war crimes as he feared that it might provoke a massive negative reaction amongst all those people who were still in Japan. Only those in the government or the military, such as Tojo, faced a public trial.
But never mind. It's Hollywood.
and no, I haven't seen the film. Has it come out yet?
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