The Sun
A God weighs the merits of Mortality
Posted by: Gaunt, September 11, 2005 03:43 PM
A character portrait of Japanese Emperor Hirohito during the last days of WWII, The Sun is a sombre piece. Subdued lighting, washed out colour, and limited, quiet colour all help show the weight of the events transpiring.
The principal actor has a big task. He has to portray a person who's people consider him infallible, invincible and beyond judgement; a person who has led those people to their destruction. Moreover, since the Emperor must not appear weak in front of witnesses, much of the movie portrays Hirohito alone, in silent contemplation. When he does speak with others, and attempts to address the issue of his Godhead and infallibility, he must approach it obliquely with metaphor and Socratic questioning. Hirohito only has the opportunity to be frank when being questioned by the American general; and even then me must guard his words to protect the future of Japan.
The dignity that the Japanse in the movie, especially the Emperor, struggled to maintain in the face of complete defeat was quite something. So when the Emperor comes to the decision that the only way to guard his people's hearts from utter dispair is to assume all of the responsibility, all of the indignity onto himself, it is even more poignant.
One comment I must make, unrelated to the movie is this: It is a really bad idea to show quiet contemplative movies in any of the Paramount theatres. Their sound systems were designed to blast out hollywood blockbusters. When forced to be quiet, the vomit up all sorts of irritating audio artefacts. It interfered with my enjoyment of this movie.