First Clip from EMPEROR Starring Tommy Lee Jones and Matthew Fox

The first clip the historical drama Emperor has gone online.  The film, which premieres tonight at the Toronto International Film Festival, stars Matthew Fox as General Bonner Fellers, an expert in Japanese, who is assigned to assist General Douglas MacArthur (Tommy Lee Jones) to investigate whether or not the beloved Japanese Emperor should be punished for war crimes.  Fellers’ mission becomes more complicated when he searches for the mysterious school teacher (Eriko Hatsune) who first drew him to Japan.  Jones looks like he’s having some fun with the role, but Fox is the lead, and I hope his performance is a little more colorful than his dry voiceover implies.

Hit the jump to check out the clip, and click here for all of our TIFF coverage.

Here’s the official synopsis for Emperor:

A gripping tale of love and honor forged between fierce enemies of war, EMPEROR unfolds the story, inspired by true events, of the bold and secret moves that won the peace in the shadows of post-war Japan.  Matthew Fox joins Academy Award® winner Tommy Lee Jones and newcomer Eriko Hatsune to bring to life the American occupation of Japan in the perilous and unpredictable days just after Emperor Hirohito’s World War II surrender. As General Douglas MacArthur (Jones) suddenly finds himself the de facto ruler of a foreign nation, he assigns an expert in Japanese culture – General Bonner Fellers (Fox), to covertly investigate the looming question hanging over the country: should the Japanese Emperor, worshiped by his people but accused of war crimes, be punished or saved?  Caught between the high-wire political intrigue of his urgent mission and his own impassioned search for the mysterious school teacher (Hatsune) who first drew him to Japan, Fellers can be certain only that the tricky subterfuge about to play out will forever change the history of two nations and his heart.