Plot
A story of love and understanding set amidst the tensions and uncertainties of the days immediately following the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II. On the staff of General Douglas MacArthur (Jones), the de facto ruler of Japan as Supreme Commander of the occupying forces, a leading Japanese expert, General Bonner Fellers (Fox) is charged with reaching a decision of historical importance: should Emperor Hirohito be tried and hanged as a war criminal? Interwoven is the story of Fellers' love affair with Aya, a Japanese exchange student he had met years previously in the U.S. Memories of Aya and his quest to find her in the ravaged post-war landscape help Fellers to discover both his wisdom and his humanity and enable him to come to the momentous decision that changed the course of history and the future of two nations.
Keywords: archival-footage, atomic-bomb, attempted-suicide, bamboo-forest, boeing-b-29-superfortress, chauffeured-limousine, corncob-pipe, devastation, douglas-dc-6, douglas-macarthur
Japan 1945: General Douglas MacArthur was given a mission to decide the fate of a nation, the guilt of a leader, and the true price of peace.
General Douglas MacArthur: After careful consideration, I've decided that General Richter can go piss up a rope.
General Richter: These people are barbaric.::General Bonner Fellers: They have different ideas of honor.
General Douglas MacArthur: I don't want the Communists in here. But Washington wants vengance on the emperor, because their voters do, and their voters have no fucking idea what's good for them.
General Bonner Fellers: McArthur believes in honor.::General Richter: And glory. His own, of course. At your expense.