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June 27-July 3, 2002 movie shorts new
Ian Holm plays Napoleon, twice, in this thin, occasionally diverting historical “what if?” Instead of dying on St. Helena in 1821, he escapes, leaving behind an underclass lookalike named Eugene (also played by Holm), who eventually decides that living the life of a deposed military monster is okay, as he gets to eat, take baths and dictate memoirs all day long. Meanwhile, the real emperor makes it to France, where he’s taken in by a melon vendor named Pumpkin (Iben Hjejle), with whom he falls in love and begins to settle down -- after marshalling all the local fruit sellers to market efficiently and profitably. (He can’t stop planning campaigns.) Holm is charming (and how pleasantly surprising to see him cast as a romantic lead), and Hjejle is engagingly warm. The tale, adapted from Simon Leys’ novel The Death of Napoleon, is, of course, a stretch by definition. Still, it moves like a TV movie with a great location budget, with little bits of plot set against stunning backdrops. The big comeuppance -- as Napoleon tries, for a minute, to insist he is who he really is -- takes place in an asylum, where he’s suddenly surrounded by delusional crazies who think they’re him as well. It’s a great concept, but the film lets the real delusional and murderous crazy off the hook, so long as he opts for being a good husband and father in the end. For a romantic comedy, it’s a little bit creepy. --Cindy Fuchs (Ritz at the Bourse; Ritz 16) HEY ARNOLD! THE MOVIE You must save our townfrom mean industrialists,football-headed freak! | ||||||||||||||||||
THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES