stfaustina
In my top 20 films. Highly recommend. Soundtrack good too. Great watch!
Lavandula
Although I am a native English-speaker I usually have no trouble following dialogue in French but I found the dialogue of this film very hard to follow.I agree with a previous reviewer that the background music is obtrusive. Another problem is the switching from English into French, Corsican Italian, English and back again, which makes it harder to "tune in" to the speaker, and the British actors speak French with a heavy accent.There are only French subtitles, and these are only for the parts of the dialogue which are spoken in English. Also, they cannot be read unless you have your screen format set to full wide-screen, so you are watching the film through a letterbox slot! I did not find this to be Richard E Grant's best performance, and I agree with another reviewer that the "ageing" make-up was clumsy.I shall watch it again, to see if I can pick up any more of the dialogue. It could have been a good film, but it was let down by what I think they call post-production. Perhaps they ran out of money? I expect they spent a lot on the costumes and locations.
MartinHafer
Viewers of this film need to be aware that the movie is VERY speculative--sort of a "what if" version of history. In this case, the "what if" is whether or not Napoleon could have escaped from his second exile--the one on St. Helena. However, instead of a documentary-style piece, it is a dramatization of those who knew him in his final years. And, it does a pretty convincing job in this department.The acting, direction and writing well all good, though I think the movie might have benefited by a little bit more energy. After all, if it is asking us to suspend belief regarding the plot, perhaps they could have infused a little more energy. Oh well, I still enjoyed it and think lovers of history out there will feel the same.PS--for parents, there is a brief nude scene. It's not THAT explicit, but you might want to consider this when letting your kids see this.
katemadme
What a surprise.....who thought that Antoine de Caunes of eurotrash fame would deliver such a fantastic film. The actors are without exception fantastic notably Phillippe Torreton as a thoroughly convincing Napoleon and Siobhan Hewlett a young actress who just lights up the screen...she plays the english love of Napoleon from 15, 20 and 40 flipping from french to english dialogue and i hear this is only her second job..she is definitely one to watch. Aside from the acting the film is visually stunning and so true to the period..i researched a lot about napoleon when i did my history degree and it really captures the essence of st helena where napoleon was exiled . go and see it
AD
