Although this movie was very long (about on par for Oscar-award winners), it didn't seem that way. It was a very watchable movie, but also a movie you could easily multi-task during, which is what I did. I thought the movie was very fascinating - full of wealth, privilege, hardships, glamour, political agendas, and more. Puyi as a character (and presumably as a human being) was at times highly unlikable and selfish, which made sense considering his upbringing as being the most important person in China from a very young age. I found the numerous side characters a bit more compelling in terms of the story-line and was most interested to see where they wound up.
The acting in the film is not quite superb, but overall, this was a fascinating portrait of a real-life historical figure and a story not often told (especially not in America). I enjoyed it, and although I didn't watch (or know) any of the other films up for the award, I can see why this might have won.
4/5