Monsieur N.

In my top 20 films. Highly recommend. Soundtrack good too. Great watch!

Of the thousands of movies I've seen so far, this is the first one which made me think of the "wasted talents" expression. I had never EVER seen so many fine actors giving so dreadful performances (Frédéric Pierrot, Elsa Zylberstein,and so on). The "aging" make-up is quite awful and, to make it worse, lit broadly. The use of music (e.g. love at first sight for the young aide de camp) is at times so caricatural that I could feel most spectators around me smile awkwardly. So far, Antoine de Caunes has been quite a good actor, but seeing this one and "les morsures de l'aube" I think he should start considering quitting. Please Antoine, give up that "master of balantree" project ; I doubt you deserve it.

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.

In the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, Napoleon Bonaparte is sent to Saint Helena, an island in the middle of the South Atlantic. "Monsieur N." presents a version of the last days of this great leader through the eyes of the British officer assigned to be his liaison with the British governor of St. Helena.

I do not know details of the life of Napoleon Bonaparte in his exile, but this movie is very confused and I have not caught the objective and reasons of the search of Basil Heathcote for the last days of Napoleon Bonaparte in St. Helena and his body. The movie has an awesome cinematography, but is also too long and boring in some parts. Last but not the least, the DVD released in Brazil by the distributor "Casablanca Filmes" has problems with the subtitles, presenting partially most of them. When the dialogs are in English, I do not have problem to understand, but I have practically lost most of those in French. Imagine the situation of an average Brazilian viewer that can not understand English. The DVD has also a bug on 92:02 minutes, and the alternative is to go to the next chapter, and return to 92:50 minutes. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Monsieur N."

Very well done! Great film! Well acted. Well written. Good directing. Good camera work. Beautiful visually from both the directing/camera work, and the picturesque scenery. Great acting performances all around.

I like how the film isn't just in French, or just in English. The English characters speak English to each other, and speak French to the French. The French characters speak French. This gives the film a realistic feel.

Great storytelling. The viewer falls prey to Napoleon's charismatic charm as much as those who knew him in person, and we come to feel for him, as if he is a victim of his imprisonment, rather than a deposed tyrannical dictator paying for his vast crimes. His humbled situation brings out his humanity and weakness, yet he still retains his dominance, but through subtler control than his former meglomanical ways. It is almost as if he has lured the audience into routing for him and pitying him, while he secretly pulls our strings.

It is also refreshing to see the human side of a once powerful ruler, and brutal military commander, through witnessing his relationships and interactions with others. We tend to only see powerful world leaders in their public personas, without getting to voyeuristically peer into their private lives, and therefore, they seem larger than life, rather than a human being going through the things we all go through in life. Life plays no favorites, nor spares anyone based on title or fame.

I am a history buff, and I enjoy most well made historical films, but I think anyone would enjoy this. It has intrigue, romance, action, dialog, storytelling, conjecture, moving moments, something for everyone. It is not "boring history", but the juicy bits that fell through the cracks, that cannot be found in a text book, the story within the story so to speak. The film is based on a combination of know facts, and explored theory. It is an intriguing conspiracy theory, that could well have happened. We may never know the whole truth about Napoleon's fate, but isn't it fun to explore the what ifs, especially the ones that make a glorious story? As with Billy The Kid, Jessie James, Elvis, & Jim Morrison, among others, Napoleon's legend is romanticized, and made even grander by the thought that he may have cheated death and fame, and "rode off into the sunset"...

Watch the film, you'll enjoy it.