You're brave
Are you not frightened?
I am excited
I do not want to escape anymore
I want to rule
Kiss me
Can I stay with you as well?
Get in. Get in
I used to play a game with the Eunuchs...
trying to guess who is who
Now I cannot see you
"The storerooms are on fire, Your Majesty"
The fire was a terrible disaster
And I knew that Eunuchs had started it...
to stop me from knowing what they had stolen
There has been Eunuchs in the Forbidden City...for eight hundred years
There were still more than a thousand of them
I decided to expel them all
I had to ask for Republican troops to help me
What are they carrying?
Their organs
Whatever their crimes...
they cannot be deprived of the right...to be buried as whole men
I...I forgot what I was saying
You're wasting our time
We want to know about the Japanese
How did your friendship with the Japanese begin?
Who introduced you? When?
I think it was...it was 1924
Parliament had been dissolved again
The President had fled
At first I thought it was just another ...coup d'etat by just another warlord
Only this time it was different
This time it was my turn
Fifteen love
Play
Thirty-fifteen
The rotten Government of the Republic is in flight
Now we shall remove the foreign stench...
of the Manchurian rats who still hide in the Forbidden City
Mr Pu Yi and his family...
have been given one hour to leave the Forbidden City
They will be escorted...to the home of his Father and remain...
there under guard as state prisoners...
until further notice
What are you all looking at?
What are you standing there for?
You always wanted to leave the Forbidden City
Now you have got an hour to pack
So go
I always thought I hated it here
But now I am afraid to leave
Do you think they will kill me?
"You must do as they say, Your Majesty..."
while I try to reach the British Embassy
They will give you asylum there
I'm sure they will
Chang...take my car to the South gate. I want you to drive His Majesty
Your Majesty
"Please, Your Majesty"
What?
"But you didn't go to the British Embassy, did you?"
You ended up at the Japanese Embassy
The Japanese were the only people prepared to help me
Help you for nothing?
Japan has an Emperor. We are almost the same age
I thought it was kindness
The same time I relised that for many Chinese...
I was an alien
Simply because I am Manchurian
There was even an Anti-Manchurian League who wanted to assassinate me
So I went to live in Tientsin
It was a nice...provincial town ...with a big port
In those days it had a large International Settlement
The Japanese thought it would be safer for me there
Were the Japanese paying for you in Tientsin?
"Oh, no. I had to rent a villa"
The villa Chang...and it was very expensive
"So, were the bodyguards"
I spent a lot of money in Tientsin
Did you still believe in the restoration of the lmperial system
Others did
The little court-in-exile
I cannot remember how much jade and jewellery...
they made me spend to buy the friendship of some warlord...
or some...white Russian general
And what else did you spend your money on?
"Oh, I was never tired of buying pianos..."
"watches, radios"
As long as they were foreign
Of course. Anything Western was good
"Especially Wrigley's chewing gum, Bayer aspirin..."
and cars
While you were in Tientsin...
most of China came under the control of General Chiang Kai Shek...
the so-called Nationalists...the Kuomintang
What were your relations with them?
None
I felt useless in Tientsin
I was twenty-one
I dreamt of going to the West
I became a playboy
"Tientsin, 1927"
BRITISH INDIA STEAM NAVIGATION COMPAN
That's a great ship... if you're going first class
I'm not going anywhere
Would you like to dance?
You are a brave man
Nobody here would have danced with me
Why's that?
Because I am Chinese
Well...l'm American
You say California.
I say French Riviera
San Fransisco
Monte Carlo
Are we really going this time?
Who's that couple?
"Oh, Henry and Elizabeth"
The Emperor of China?
The ex-Emperor and his wife
She's beautiful
"Yes, very"
And who are you?
I am His Highness' other wife
His other wife?
Number two wife
"Well, some people have all the luck"
Ladies and Gentlemen
General Chiang Kai Shek...has taken Shanghai
The Kuomintang have broken with the Reds
and they've knocked them for six
The Reds are finished!
Sorry about the reception everyone. We'll have it fixed in a minute
"It would be wiser to return to the Japanese Legation now, Your Majesty"
Your car is waiting
"Thank you, Mr Amakasu"
The General strike in Shanghai has collapsed
The International Settlement is safe
Troops of the Kuomintang are now in fall control of the city
And firm steps are being taken to restore order...in the native areas
Wen Hsiu. You want some gum?
I want a divorce
I do not want to be your mistress any longer
I thought you were my Secondary Consort
In the Forbidden City you were the Emperor...
and I was a Secondary Consort
But now your are Henry Pu Yi...
"Wan Jung is your wife, Elizabeth"
And who am I?
I'm nobody
I did not know you were so unhappy
You can only have one wife in the West
I want a divorce
No one can divorce me
I want a divorce
Your Ladyship
I do not need it
Can I come in?
Don't you remember me?
"I'm dressed like a pilot, but I still can't fly"
Not yet
Eastern Jewel. We had dancing classes together
"Yes, just before your marriage"
You silly girl. Why do people want to get married?
Wen Hsiu has gone
She will never come back
Is that so bad?
She was my only friend
"Well, at least now you've got a husband all to yourself'
And you've got me
I'll be your friend
You smoke opium?
Be wicked. It's the best in Shanghai
Why are you going to Europe?
The place to go is Japan
It's more fun than anywhere
It's modern
How do you know we are going to Europe?
It is a secret
"Oh, I know everything"
I know Chiang Kai Shek has got false teeth
"I even know his nickname, "Cash-my-check"
I'm a spy
And I don't care who knows it
A spy?
I work for the Japanese Special Service Bureau...
and I've come to protect you
The Japanese?
They are getting closer to him every day
He is sending his brother... to the Military Academy in Tokyo
They talk to him about Manchuria all the time
And Mr Amakasu never says hello to me
I do not trust the Japanese
"Of course, I'd love to be the Emperor's new Secondary Consort"
Eastern Jewel
If the past available
"The post is vacant, my dear cousin..."
but you do not fit the part
Wen Hsiu left her dog behind. Do you want it?
It is my fault. It is all my fault
"I came to see you, Your Majesty..."
to give you bad news
Something terrible has happened
The lmperial tombs of our Manchurian ancestors have been attacked...
and robbed...by troops of the Kuomintang
Chinese soldiers
A warlord working for Chiang Kai Shek
The body of the Empress Dowager... was hacked to pieces
Her pearl necklace has became a wedding present
from Chiang Kai Shek...to his new wife
Tell me 981 ...
do you consider yourself to be Chinese?
Of course
What is this?
Japan
And what do you call this part of China
The North East
And what did you call it as a child?
Manchuria
Japan invaded Manchuria
"on September 18th, 1931"
And began to set up a puppet state called Manchukuo
"Shorty afterwards, a Japanese Delegation..."
paid you a secret visit in Tientsin...
to request your collaboration
Which you say you refused?
Speak up
I already told you. I have told you a hundred times
Tell us again. Tell us two hundred times
I refused to collaborate
"You say you refused, but a month later..."
"on November 10th, 1931 ..."
there you are arriving in Manchuria...
or shall I call it Manchukuo?
"Now, according to this so-called confession of yours..."
you didn't go of your own free will
You insisted you were kidnapped...by the Japanese
Yes
And taken to Manchuria by force?
Yes
Sit down
Do you remember a man called Reginald Fleming Johnston?
He was your tutor
Yes
And a good friend...I believe
After twenty-eight years in China...
Mr Johnston returned to England
He became a Professor of Oriental Studies...at London University
And he wrote a book
"It is called "Twilight in the Forbidden City"
And it is dedicated to you
"Tientsin, 1931"
"I am going to miss you, Johnston"
"I shall miss you, Your Majesty"
Do you think a man... can become Emperor again?
Yes
"Thank you, Your Majesty"
How can we say goodbye?
As we said hello
"Farewell, Mr Johnston"
"Farewell, Your Majesty"
"Goodbye, Mr Johnston"
"We'll never forget you, Mr Johnston"
"Mr Johnston, goodbye, goodbye"
On page 449...
Mr Johnston writes...
the endeavour to make out that the Emperor had been kidnapped...
by the Japanese...is wholly untrue
He left Tientsin...he went to Manchuria of his own free will...
Johnston was a liar
What did you say?
Mr Johnston had left before I was taken to Manchuria
He could not have known what happened
Sit down
According to this account...
you prepared the man's things on the morning of November 9th
Isn't it unusual for a man who is kidnapped to have his luggage packed...
by his valet the day before he's kidnapped
This is what you've written isn't it?
Who told you to pack this man's luggage?
These two stories don't fit
Do they?
It was a long time ago
Perhaps I made a mistake
You are lying
You are both lying
Control yourself
You can still change your mind
I am the hereditary ruler of the Manchukuo people
There can be no Manchukuo without me
Do you not see? The Japanese are using you
I must try to use them
The Japanese invasion of Manchuria...
will be condemned by the League of Nations...
and by every civilised country on Earth
The Chinese Republic has broken every promise it ever made to me
Chinese troops desecrated the tombs of my ancestors
And Chinese troops did not defend Manchuria from the Japanese
But Manchuria is still China
China has turned its back on me
Please do not go
Manchuria is the richest frontier in Asia
"Coal, oil, railways"
Millions of Chinese emigrants are going there every year
I'm going to build my country
Johnston was wrong but he wasn't a liar
There was no kidnapping
You went to Manchuria by your own choice
because you wanted to be Emperor again
These might help you to remember the truth
Manchuria 1934
To Heaven
To Earth
To the Moon
To the Sun
You're an Empress again
What I'm going to be is a pilot
I'm going to train at a secret base near Yokohama
To learn precision bombing
I want to bomb Shanghai
Bomb Shanghai?
I hate China
I hate you
The Japanese Army High Command
Very impressive
On behalf of the Emperor of Japan... the Commander of the Kwangtung Army...
extends his warmest congratulations on the occasion of His Majesty's coronation
"Ah, may I introduce you... my wife, the Princess Hiro Saga"
Prime Minister Hsiao-Hsiu
The Honourable Chang Ching-Hui... Minister of Defense
"The Papal Nuncio, Monsignor Colonna"
The Empress and I accept with great pleasure
"Excuse me, Gentlemen"
"Ah, and our Mr Amakasu..."
is the new chief of the Manchurian Motion Picture Studios
Do you have to spoil this day?
Why?
Mr Amakasu is the most powerful man in Manchukuo
What are you talking about?
You did not believe I could be Emperor again. But I am
You are blind
Do you know what it means to be an Empress? You are an Empress
Why do you not make love to me anymore?
Because you have become an opium addict
Opium killed my Mother
Opium destroyed China
You can buy opium anywhere in Manchukuo
Shut up
In any shop
Shut up
Your brother is going to have a child
We must have a child
You must have an heir
Emperor Hirohito has officially invited us to Japan
I am going alone
You are staying here
I would never go to Japan
Then go to your room
Ten thousand years to His Majesty the Emperor
Ten thousand years
I told you I hate you
Only because I give you what you need
Now we're engaged
You forgot my toothpowder
"Yes, sir"
Move him
981 . Collect your things
Up stairs
Stop
Your laces are undone. Do them up
Thursday you serve lunch
Friday you clean the toilet
Saturday you sweep the floor
I have never been separated from my family
You'd better get use to it
"You do not remember me, do you?"
I was the Minister of Trade -- in Manchukuo
You were all in Manchukuo
Now I am the Cell Leader
It is important to follow the rules here
No talking during study sessions
MANCHURIA 1935
"Where is your gun, Captain?"
Where are their swords?
"Our weapons have been removed, Your Majesty"
On the orders of Colonel Yoshioka?
Colonel Yoshioka?
Colonel Yoshioka
What has happened here?
Why has my Guard been disarmed?
There have been many changes while you were in Tokyo
"Your Majesty, may I present Masaomi Kobayakawa..."
the new Japanese Ambassador...to Manchukuo
Why is Prime Minister Hsiao-Hsiu not here to receive me?
"The Prime Minister has resigned, Your Majesty"
His son his been assassinated
Assassinated?
"By Communist bandits, Your Majesty"
I must see him at once
"He refuses to see anyone, Your Majesty"
He has gone to a monastery... far away
Who are you?
"Chang Ching Hui, Your Majesty"
Minister of Defence
"The Council Meeting will be at four o'clock, Your Majesty..."
before the State dinner
The Emperor has been asked to sign the following
After careful consideration we have decided...
to nominate the honourable Chang Ching Hui as the new Prime Minister of Manchukuo
"Today, on the our return from Japan..."
we wish to speak of something more important...
the future of our friendship with Japan
This is based on mutual respect...
and respect means equality and independence
When the two Emperors stood together...
and saluted the two national flags
they recognised that Manchukuo had come of age
"Manchukuo is not a colony, Manchukuo is Manchuria"
The relationship between our two countries...
is like the relationship between its two Emperors
It is rooted in fraternal trust...in...in the desire
to preserve our ancient traditions...
and in a mutual respect for national identities
Already we have welcomed the Ambassadors...of E I Salvador
"Costa Rica, the Vatican"
"Soon, I'm...l'm sure the other countries will follow"
I am going to have a child
The Father is Manchurian
I did it for you
His Majesty forgot to sign the appointment of
the new Prime Minister...Mr Chang Ching Hui
I did not forget
"When an Englishman robs someone, Your Majesty, he becomes a gentleman"
If he robs a lot he becomes a knight
Do you imagine the British run their empire as a charity?
If India has payed for the cost of its own occupation...
so must Manchukuo
We hope Manchukuo will have an heir
The Empress is expecting a child
"Yes, Your Majesty...we are aware of the situation"
This is the name of the Father. His name is Chang
He is your driver
All the necessary facts have been recorded
The man will be punished
The Emperor cannot allow his honour to be stained
The Japanese are the only divine race on our earth
"We will take China, Hong Kong... Indo-China, Siam, Malaya"
Singapore and India
Asia belongs to us
There have been complaints from your cell mates
You must learn how to urinate at night without walking them all up
The way to do it...
is to urinate against the side of the bucket...
not into the middle
"Yes, comrade"
"You still think I'm your servant, don't you?"
You are all pretending
You are just pretending you have changed
The party it teach us to be new men
We are working for a new China
You worked in Amakasu's private office
You are still the same people
People do not change
Guard!
I let it happen
"The second edict, Your Majesty"
Japanese will be the official language in Manchukuo schools
Your Majesty...
"The baby was born dead, Your Majesty"
How is the Empress?
It would be better if she goes to a clinic...somewhere warm
"She's already left, Your Majesty"
Open the door
With Manchukuo now firmly in their grasp...
the Japanese soon controlled most of North China
By 1937 they were ready to strike South at the heart of the country
The attack on Shanghai was one of the first...
civilian bombing raids in history
It left thousands homeless
Thousands dead
Three months later Japanese armies...
were besieging the provisional capital...at Nanking...
and when the city fell ...the atrocities began
Trying to terrorise the rest of China into surrender
The Japanese high command ordered a massacre
More than two hundred thousand civilians were systematically executed
The world watched in horror...
but no help was given
On December 7th 1941 ...
Japan attacked the American fleet...
at Pearl Harbour
There was no warning
Manchukuo...the Japanese bustion in North China...
was still ruled by the puppet Emperor Pu Yi
But behind the facade of triumph...
was a country enslaved
A country where Japanese experiments in biological warfare...
were carried out on live human beings
A country where opium production became the easiest way to finance the war
Millions of people...were deliberately turned into drug addicts
Nine days after the bomb...
at Hiroshima on August 15th 1945...
Emperor Hirohito...announced the surrender of Japan
It was the first time...his voice had ever been heard...on radio
"You must get to Tokoy, Your Majesty"
You must surrender to the Americans not the Russians
The Communists will kill everyone
The Empress has returned
"Your Majesty, please"
Your Majesty
The women are not in danger. We must hurry
"Your Majesty, your Majesty is leaving now"
The Russians
Perhaps you think we are here to teach men to lie in a new way?
Why did you sign every accusation made against you?
I didn't stop you from killing yourself to see you like this
Someone who signs anything
to please his enemies...to please me
You knew about a lot of things in Manchukuo...
even the secret agreements
But you couldn't possibly have known about the Japanese biological warfare
experiments in Harbin. Could you?
So why did you sign these papers?
I was responsible for everything
You are responsible for what you do
All your life you thought you were better than everyone else
Now you think you are the worse of all
Why can you not leave me alone?
You saved my life...to make me a puppet in your own play
You saved me because I am useful to you
Is that so terrible?
Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi
By order of the Supreme People's Court...
the War Criminal Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi...
"male, fifty-three years old..."
of the Manchu nationality and from Peking...
has now served the years detention
As a result of remoulding through labour...
and ideological education...
during his captivity he has shown that he has genuinely reformed
In accordance with Clause One of the Special Pardon Order...
he is therefore to be released
You see?
I will end up living in prison longer than you
They are so young
It is dangerous
"Pu Chieh, look"
It is the Governor of our prison
It cannot be
"It is, I'm sure it is"
Be careful
Come back
"Comrade. This must be a mistake, I know this man"
He is a good man
Who are you?
I am a gardener
"Join us comrade, or fuck off'
But what has he done?
He's been accused
Accused of what?
Emperor's lackey
Revisionist element
Rotten rightest
Confess your crimes
I have nothing to confess
Kowtow to Chairman Mao
Confess your crimes
I have nothing to confess
Kowtow
Confess your crimes
Wait
He is a teacher. He is a good teacher
You cannot do this to him
Stop. You are not allowed in there
Who are you?
I live here
I am the son of the Guardian
"Ah. Well, I used to live here too"
That is where I sat
Who are you?
I was the Emperor of China
Prove it
This is the Hall of Supreme Harmony...
where the Emperors were crowned
The last Emperor to be crowned here was Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi
He was three years old
He died in 1967