The Story:
It's 1945 and the Japanese have surrendered. General MacArthur (Tommy Lee Jones) has 10 days to report back to Washington whether Emperor Hirohito was responsible for starting the war and should be tried (and executed) as a war criminal or is he should be spared. MacArthur turns to General Fellers (Matthew Fox), an expert on Japanese culture to do the research. What follows is Fellers race against time to find out if the Emperor was involved or was forced, but Fellers has a secret of his own that will also occupy his time and efforts.
This was better than I thought it would be.
Based on the true story, I have no idea how much of course is fact or how far the truth is stretched, but it's not bad.
Fellers secret: there was a girl he loved in Japan, and he wanted to find out if she was alive. It turns out, he may have also done some behind the scenes planning attempting to ensure her survival in Japan.
The flashbacks to his life pre-war in Japan, and his quest to find her were the slow parts for me in this movie.
It was much more fascinating to see what kind of timetable the Generals were working on to wrap up everything for the President.
In the end, the decisions are based on sound logic and evidence that will never be known.
It's hard to say if those choices were right or wrong, but the importance of the occupation and rebuilding were hinging on that very thing, so the decision to let the Emperor live was the correct one to make.
Regardless of the Emperor's starting of the war, he was directly responsible for ending it before anymore blood was shed, and should be recognized for that.
Tommy Lee Jones carries his MacArthur with much swagger and bravado, sadly he is hardly in the movie. The bulk of the movie is Fox attempting to find out what happened to the girl, and questioning officials on what the Emperor did and did not know.
Director Peter Webber balances out the two interweaving tales rather well. When I felt the story was dragging under the search for the girl, he would bring it back with a shot of Tommy Lee Jones to recharge the movie. :) I'm not familiar with his other 2 feature films, but so far I'd say he's a solid, if not spectacular, director.
The movie is definitely worth a look when you get the chance.
Final Grade: B
Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I would have no problem watching it again, but I won't be out actively trying to purchase it.
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