Rating: 
Summary: A different interpretation of Anderson's fairy tale...
Review: Movies have always been notorious for diddling with a novel's plot or historical facts, but this one would surely make Author Hans Christian Anderson wonder. The title selected for this movie, THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES, is using Anderson's fairy tale as a metaphor and it bears no other resemblance to it than that. In addition, viewers must accept that the history books miss all of the facts. This is the true story of the final days of Napoleon Bonaparte (Ian Holm).After Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, he was sent into exile on an island called St. Helena. This doesn't deter him. He escaped from Elba; he could do the same again. When his men find a double, Eugene Lenormand (Holm again), for him, working as a laborer on a cargo vessel, his big opportunity arrives. Napoleon and his double swap places and the former emperor is on his way to Paris. Once he safely arrives, Lenormand is supposed to announce he is an imposter and then the real Napoleon rallies supporters to regain his position. The journey back is tough. On the ship, Napoleon scrubs the deck, and then begrudgingly sleeps with Lenormand's pet cat. (Napoleon was a cat hater.) Not aware of the ship's itinerary, he ends up missing his initial contact on land. He wanders by Waterloo, complete with souvenirs and tourists exploring the site. He finally links up with the customs officer who helps route him to Paris, where he is supposed to be sheltered by one of his former lieutenants. By the time Napoleon arrives at the lieutenant's home, his host is laid out for people to pay their last respects. The lieutenant's family is having a rough time of it. His widow, Pumpkin (Iben Hjejle), continues to run the family's produce business with little success. Napoleon sees a need for better management, proving his talent can go beyond the battlefield. In the meantime, he waits for news of the imposter to come out. Unfortunately for Napoleon, life for Lenormand as a captured emperor is better than any he's known before. He is reluctant to give it up. Until he confesses the situation, Napoleon is forced to live the life of a commoner. He resents and has no trust in any of his former friends and colleagues. The one person who suspects his true identity, Dr. Lambert (Tim McInnery), has his own reasons for not helping Napoleon out. This is a delightful revision of Napoleon's last days. This story relies more on Napoleon's character development than battle action or political intrigue. It does nothing to alter major historical events, so its audience can believe it might have actually happened. The high waistlines fashionable women were wearing were starting to lower when this story took place, but keep in mind Pumpkin had a modest income. The settings are convincing as early 19th century Europe. The soft lighting contributes to the mood of this 2002 movie. One disturbing factor is seeing Napoleon become romantically involved with a woman young enough to be his daughter. But one has to consider how common this practice was until the 20th century. Furthermore, this is consistent with Napoleon's character (unlike George IV). The fact they're very open about it also shows the differing social attitudes between the French and British cultures. The performances of this ensemble blend together well. This movie further demonstrates the versatility of Holm, whose recent projects included FROM HELL and LORD OF THE RINGS. The contrast in the bearings of Napoleon and Lenormand are convincingly different. So much so that viewers can easily wonder why Napoleon's gaolers fail to see the difference when Lenormand replaces him. Napoleon is well-poised, regal, and dignified. Lenormand is a crude oaf. Hjejle is best known by American audiences for her performance in HIGH FIDELITY. She is "in the moment" when she persuasively deals with her character's grief, stress, and adoration. McInnery, no stranger to historical costume after his involvement in BLACK ADDER, transits into drama well, showing he can play intelligent, serious characters as well as the dim, comedic ones. The metaphor in THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES comes from its likening of the emperor seeing his resplendent clothes with Napoleon's belief of recovering his reign. It effectively compares the real emperor's plight with the fictional one's. It's a shame this movie had such limited distribution. Anyone who enjoys historical drama or stories with character growth should like this poignant story.
Rating: 
Summary: Simple contentment is sometimes its own reward
Review: Napoleon died in 1821 in comfortable exile on the island of St. Helena, right? Nope. That's the alternative history premise in the lighthearted THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES. Ian Holm, recently seen on the big screen as Bilbo Baggins in LORD OF THE RINGS, does double duty as Bonaparte and his look-alike, Eugene Lenormand. The latter is a swab jockey pulled off a passing merchant ship and secretly substituted for Bonaparte on St. Helena while the Emperor sets sail on the same vessel for France in the guise of the common sailor (with all his attendant duties). The plan is that, after enough time is allowed Napoleon to reach Paris, Lenormand will announce himself as a fraud to his British jailers, a revelation sure to make all the supermarket tabloids. Reading of this in Paris, the Emperor will emerge from the closet, so to speak, and retake his throne with the help of widespread popular support. The plan doesn't take into account that Eugene might enjoy his new existence in captivity. As he remarks to the French conspirators, he's been scrubbing ships' decks for all the years that Napoleon was Emperor, and now it's his turn to be pampered. So, in the meantime, the real Napoleon must cool his heels in Paris while staying in the home of the widow Truchaut (Iben Hjejle), alias "Pumpkin", who manages a cadre of street-roaming melon sellers. As luck would have it, Pumpkin's husband, who was one of the very few plotters privy to Napoleon's escape plan, died shortly before the Emperor's arrival. Oh, well. Holm is splendid in his dual role, and Hjejle is engaging as Pumpkin. However, the two together, especially Holm's Napoleon persona, never quite made this viewer believe that the pair had a future together no matter how much Pumpkin wanted it. Having said that, the film's lesson is that sometimes being content with less is a virtue that is its own reward. Bonaparte has this epiphany when, in one of the movie's best scenes, he's introduced to several other "Napoleons" by a physician friend of Pumpkin's. And Holm certainly looks the part, especially because of his relatively short stature. There's a scene, a sight gag in itself, where Bonaparte is hugged by a former member of his Imperial Guard, an old comrade-in-arms apparently over six feet tall, and the Emperor is almost smothered in the clothing at the man's waist. Also to the film's credit is the cinematography and special FX, which effectively depict early 19th century Paris. For me, the greatest flaw in this otherwise excellent film was the logic behind the storyline. Rather than leave control of events to the imposter left behind on St. Helena, Napoleon should have revealed himself to those he knew in Paris, some of whom would have certainly been of high social importance, and then, his identity established to their satisfaction, held a joint press conference with photo ops. (Even Pumpkin's doctor realized the true identity of her lodger for reasons I shall not reveal here.) That would have left the British to prove that their captive was not the real deal, a dodgy undertaking at best. However, such an approach by the scriptwriters would certainly have resulted in a film not nearly so much fun. Come to think of it, THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES is a gem best left like it is.
Rating:
Summary: Great Acting and Visually Stunning
Review: This film has a rather simple concept: the Emperor Napoleon is replaced in St; Helena by a commoner who looks like him. It is how this story develops that makes it interesting and a delight. The Emperor's New Clothes is one of those films that is hard to categorize. I would have to say it is a drama with comic overtones. An example of some comedy, when Napoleon, now disguised as Eugene, is deposited at the Battlefield of Waterloo, he visits an inn where he finds a bed with a sign over it reading: "Napoleon Slept Here." In fact, he never had slept in the bed, and promptly falls asleep on it. The frustration Napoleon/Eugene feels when he cannot reveal his true identity is the dramatic side of the story, and really the tenor of the film. The film is very well acted, especially by Ian Holm playing the dual roles of the Emperor Napoleon and Eugene, a deck hand who resembles him. A marvelous scene is the one where Ian Holm plan an "attack" on the people of Paris in order to supply them with melons. Iben Hjejle is outstanding as the wife of Napoleon's contact in Paris, who turns out to be dead when the emperor arrives at his destination. The locations for the film were in Italy, and they stand in well for the Paris of the pre-Grand Boulevard days. The producers saw to every detail of costume, period transport and furnishings, and these factors make this a visually stunning film. The music score by Rachel Portman (Chocolat) is very beautiful and I am sorry that it was not issued on CD. I wish we could have had more of Ian Holm in the Eugene/Napoleon character and more interaction with the courtiers who are desperately trying to get him to admit he is not the emperor. Also, even though the ex-soldiers take pride in the glory of being in Napoleon's army, there is little of the misery that happened, but it is touched upon and a point is made. In the end, Napoleon is at peace with the personality and situation he is left with, and that resolution makes for a happy ending of this impressive film.
Rating:
Summary: Great Acting and Visually Stunning
Review: This film has a rather simple concept: the Emperor Napoleon is replaced in St; Helena by a commoner who looks like him. It is how this story develops that makes it interesting and a delight. The Emperor's New Clothes is one of those films that is hard to categorize. I would have to say it is a drama with comic overtones. An example of some comedy, when Napoleon, now disguised as Eugene, is deposited at the Battlefield of Waterloo, he visits an inn where he finds a bed with a sign over it reading: "Napoleon Slept Here." In fact, he never had slept in the bed, and promptly falls asleep on it. The frustration Napoleon/Eugene feels when he cannot reveal his true identity is the dramatic side of the story, and really the tenor of the film. The film is very well acted, especially by Ian Holm playing the dual roles of the Emperor Napoleon and Eugene, a deck hand who resembles him. A marvelous scene is the one where Ian Holm plan an "attack" on the people of Paris in order to supply them with melons. Iben Hjejle is outstanding as the wife of Napoleon's contact in Paris, who turns out to be dead when the emperor arrives at his destination. The locations for the film were in Italy, and they stand in well for the Paris of the pre-Grand Boulevard days. The producers saw to every detail of costume, period transport and furnishings, and these factors make this a visually stunning film. The music score by Rachel Portman (Chocolat) is very beautiful and I am sorry that it was not issued on CD. I wish we could have had more of Ian Holm in the Eugene/Napoleon character and more interaction with the courtiers who are desperately trying to get him to admit he is not the emperor. Also, even though the ex-soldiers take pride in the glory of being in Napoleon's army, there is little of the misery that happened, but it is touched upon and a point is made. In the end, Napoleon is at peace with the personality and situation he is left with, and that resolution makes for a happy ending of this impressive film.
Rating:
Summary: Totally Entertaining
Review: This film is absolutely wonderful. Ian Holm is amazing in this fictitious account of Napoleon. The story is fun and makes you wonder if something like this could have happened. Of course it is not true but the literary license is clever, well written and performed. The story is character driven and creatively explores the emotions and thoughts of a post war exiled emperor. A delightful tale with a love interest and a satisfying ending. It is completely entertaining. One of my favorite films of the year. I highly recommend it!!!
Rating:
Summary: Totally Entertaining
Review: This film is absolutely wonderful. Ian Holm is amazing in this fictitious account of Napoleon. The story is fun and makes you wonder if something like this could have happened. Of course it is not true but the literary license is clever, well written and performed. The story is character driven and creatively explores the emotions and thoughts of a post war exiled emperor. A delightful tale with a love interest and a satisfying ending. It is completely entertaining. One of my favorite films of the year. I highly recommend it!!!
Rating:
Summary: Nice adaption of Simon Leys novel
Review: This film version of Simon Leys' 1995 novel (recently released in paperback with a cover picture of Ian Holm from this film) follows the original story fairly closely. Though Holm is too old for the role (Napoleon was 51 in 1820, and chubby), he does a nice job capturing the ex-emperor's mannerisms and personality. A few historical anachronisms aside, the tale of an emperor who returns from exile (a second time!) to take control of France, only to end up happily as a wholesale fruit merchant is a pleasurable one, with the director treading a fine line between comedy and semi-tragedy. Some ideas aren't fully developed--a clearer depiction of the impact of Napoleon's reign and wars on France (though his lover/partner does refer once to the emperor having populated France with "widows and orphans") would help, and his strategizing of the takeover of the Paris street fruit market seems to be confined to a single day's sales. And while Holm expresses the predictable petulance and frustration that a former ruler in obscurity might feel, we see little of Napoleon's well-documented capacity for ruthlessness and indifference to others. Holm/Napoleon's gradual realization that no one really cares about him anymore is (intentionally or not) historically accurate. Many commentators in 1821 remarked on how little public excitement there was over his death. The wave of nostalgia for the Empire that led to the return of his body to France in 1840 had to wait for the next generation--fired up by Romantic historians and poets like Victor Hugo--which could see only the "glory" of the Empire and overlook its terrible cost in lost lives and liberties. Leys' conceit (that through these unknown events a common sailor lies in Napoleon's tomb in the Invalides), though slight, is a ironic counterpart to the cult that still surrounds his memory for many.
Rating:
Summary: Nice adaption of Simon Leys novel
Review: This film version of Simon Leys' 1995 novel (recently released in paperback with a cover picture of Ian Holm from this film) follows the original story fairly closely. Though Holm is too old for the role (Napoleon was 51 in 1820, and chubby), he does a nice job capturing the ex-emperor's mannerisms and personality. A few historical anachronisms aside, the tale of an emperor who returns from exile (a second time!) to take control of France, only to end up happily as a wholesale fruit merchant is a pleasurable one, with the director treading a fine line between comedy and semi-tragedy. Some ideas aren't fully developed--a clearer depiction of the impact of Napoleon's reign and wars on France (though his lover/partner does refer once to the emperor having populated France with "widows and orphans") would help, and his strategizing of the takeover of the Paris street fruit market seems to be confined to a single day's sales. And while Holm expresses the predictable petulance and frustration that a former ruler in obscurity might feel, we see little of Napoleon's well-documented capacity for ruthlessness and indifference to others. Holm/Napoleon's gradual realization that no one really cares about him anymore is (intentionally or not) historically accurate. Many commentators in 1821 remarked on how little public excitement there was over his death. The wave of nostalgia for the Empire that led to the return of his body to France in 1840 had to wait for the next generation--fired up by Romantic historians and poets like Victor Hugo--which could see only the "glory" of the Empire and overlook its terrible cost in lost lives and liberties. Leys' conceit (that through these unknown events a common sailor lies in Napoleon's tomb in the Invalides), though slight, is a ironic counterpart to the cult that still surrounds his memory for many.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible story!
Review: What if??? This movie puts a new spin on the life of Napoleon, and what if it is true? This is a must have for anyone interested in History or in a good historical romance.
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