A re-imagination of Japanese Emperor Hirohito’s final days in power as WWII draws to a close.
Acting
Issey Ogata's body language — a man learning to occupy his own skin.
Cinematography
Sokurov's floating camera turns rooms into liminal psychological spaces.
Direction
The famous 10-minute unbroken surrender scene — pure cinematic nerve.
Director
Aleksandr Sokurov
Issey Ogata
Emperor Shouwa-Tennou Hirohito
Robert Dawson
General Douglas MacArthur
Kaori Momoi
Empress Kojun
Shiro Sano
The chamberlain
Dmitriy Podnozov
Taijirō Tamura
scientist
Georgi Pitskhelauri
midshipman
Toshiaki Nishizawa
Yonai, Minister of the Navy
Naomasa Musaka
Anami, Minister of the War
Kōjirō Kusanagi
Togo, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Kojun Ito
Hironuma
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Sokurov's 'Men of Power' trilogy — Hitler in Moloch, Lenin in Taurus, Hirohito here — treats dictators as caged animals, not monsters.
The real Hirohito never spoke of the war again after his surrender broadcast; Sokurov imagines what that afternoon cost him.
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